Street Art in Florence - Nelson Mandela
There is also a "legal" street art not
ephemeral, but made to last, financed by sponsors and institutions. Also in
Florence there are such artwoks, like the mural dedicated to Nelson Mandela in
Piazza Leopoldo, created by Jorit Ciro Cerullo, a Neapolitan artist, now
an internationally renowned artist, who started from Street Art graffiti
and now specializes in large realistic depictions of the human face. His
15-meter high representation of San Gennaro in Forcella, a popular district of
Naples, is worldwide famous.
Mandela's face, on the side facade of a public
building, measures 14 meters by 9 and 126 square meters of surface. It took the
artist 12 days and 300 spray paint cans to paint it. This type of works generally
start from a photograph, whose outlines become the basic scheme for these
grandiose projects. Funded by the Municipality of Florence, by Coop, by a bank,
by other associations and public institutions, it was created in 2018 on the
fifth anniversary of Mandela’s death, to celebrate this symbol of the fight
against racism and for human rights.
A curiosity: Jorit signs his works, which,
however, are easily identified also by the long red strips traced on the cheeks
of his characters, as Indian tattoos. Florence, Piazza Leopoldo.