Spanish street artist Dados Punto Cero DA2 ‘TetraBrick Series’ murals are creating much-needed awareness and conversation on the excessive use of landfill and waste production. The murals encourage us to recycle, reduce waste, stop one-use plastics, and motivate us to rethink packaging.
The ‘Tetra Brick Series looks at the recycling process and how easy or difficult it is to recycle specific packaging due to its different components. Tetra Pak cartons are criticised for being more difficult to recycle than tin cans and glass bottles. The difficulty lies in that recycling Tetra packaging demands specific recycling plants that are costly and not easily accessible and that, if not recycled, can end up in landfills.
Tetra Paks are 70 to 90% paperboard, which is recyclable like any other paper or card, however, cannot be included with regular paper recycling because the aluminium foil liner and polyethene cap are included with the carton.
This series of murals main idea is to denounce recycling for economic purposes instead of ecological ones. The tetra brick is a complex and expensive container to recycle since it has three components, plastic, aluminium and cardboard. The separation of both entails a costly process that barely leaves a profit for companies dedicated to recycling, which is why it often ends up being part of our landfills. In this case, I propose real recycling, transforming that garbage into life.
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I also associated another idea in some murals, such as the immigrant orange case. I denounced the difficulties that the administration places on immigrants and the facilities for importing oranges, thus making our fruit not collected and lost in the cultivated fields.
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The mural of Begoña, the Cigoña, makes visible the changes in the behaviour of birds, which have stopped migrating due to climate change and all the problems it entails, including pest imbalance in the ecosystem… In addition, the incorporation of plastic waste in the creation of their nests causes greater mortality in the young.
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These murals by
Dados Punto Cero create awareness of the recycling issues of these cartons, especially the aseptic ones, and encourage companies to explore new ways of manufacturing their products to become easier to recycle. The Tetra Pak company is looking to make its packaging more sustainable, using a bio-based cap derived from sugarcane, and replacing aluminium foil with new barrier technologies by 2030, it’s their social responsibility to do what they can to help the environment. However, we must keep the pressure on these companies because a landfill is not a solution; recycling helps, and a refill is the best! As consumers, we should consider a container’s environmental impact when purchasing beverages and other products.
TBILISI Mural Fest has just wrapped up its fourth street art festival in the beautiful capital of Georgia. The festival began in 2019 and was founded by Besik Maziashvili with the support of Tbilisi and Berlin City Halls. The Tbilisi mural festival has more than forty murals addressing social, environmental and other relevant issues, and the artists are free to decide their theme.
This year’s artist line-up welcomed Fintan Magee, VESOD , Sasha Korban, David Machavariani, Luis Gomez de Teran, ARTEZ, KERA, Mohamed l’Ghacham and Tina Chertova, who painted their murals in different locations of the city.
“It was impossible to ignore the topic of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, especially since the Georgian people know just how it feels to be invaded by Russia. This is why he decided to focus on Ukrainian artists and give them a chance to express their feelings through their art. The well-known Ukrainian artist, Sasha Korban, who was an honourable artist this year, painted a portrait of a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing right in front of the Embassy of Russia. Despite the terror of the war, the mural itself portrays the hope and strength of the Ukrainian people. ” Besik Maziashvili, the founder of the festival.
Fintan Magee painted one of the most challenging walls he has ever painted. Using hundreds of litres of paint and 21 solid days of painting!
“When I came to Georgia, I took photos of people. This is a portrait of a woman, behind a mirror with her own child, holding a Georgian historical artifact. This shows the importance of culture and transmission from generation to generation. I painted with the effect of tilted glass, I wanted the person in the painting to be a universal person, because it can be anyone, that’s why it remains a little abstract. This wall was a great challenge for me. I have never done such a complex, detailed wall of this size before.” Fintan Magee
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Fintan Magee
Fintan detail
Fintan Magee
Italian muralist Vesod mural is titled “M3D3A”, dedicated to the story of Medea and Jason, and you can view it in the historical part of the Sololaki district.
“The painting is inspired by the figure of Medea and her myth which is said to be set in Georgia. The scene portrays the moment in which she prepares the potion for Jason. Compared to the painting by John William Waterhouse from which she draws inspiration is Medea, placed in a predominant position, the main figure, who, in an almost maternal way, provides the Greek hero with the opportunity to realize his ambition.” VESOD
Vesod
Vesod
Vesod
Ukrainian artist Sasha gathered strength during difficult times and created a significant and powerful piece of art.
“I portrayed a Ukrainian woman in a traditional embroidered shirt holding a huge bouquet of wildflowers with ears of wheat. She is proud and full of light. She looks straight ahead, with a barely noticeable smile, to all the obstacles and fears in her eyes. It symbolizes our strength, inner energy, freedom and will. Despite the terrible and cruel war, we, as a nation, will endure, become even stronger, and we will live!” Sasha Korban
Sasha korban
Sasha Korban
David Machavariani dedicated a mural to the famous medieval poet Shota Rustaveli. The focus is on king Rostevan and his female heir Tinatin, echoing the gender equality theme. Two Georgian artists have worked on this mural. The sketch was created by Machavariani, who has been working on the poem “The Night in the Panter’s skin” for years and later transferred to the wall by Irakli Kadeishvili.
David Machavariani
For the first time, in the festival’s framework, Luis Gomez de Teran created an installation on an abandoned water tank titled “Unauthorized installation in an abandoned spaceship – Tbilisi, Georgia – Autumn 3022”
“What’s left of my atoms
how much of me survived,
since the day I collided
to this long sleepless night
Take me away from this oxygen
like water for iron, I slowly realised,
one more breath, one more drop
a red soul never dries.
Bring me back to my planet
where this sun doesn’t shine.
On your wrecked silver spaceship,
can you still make it fly?
Bring me back to my star
gone since a thousand years.
You keep watching a light
that has long disappeared.” Gomez
Gomez
Artez painted a mural about growth.
“On this wall, I have decided to play with repetition and scale in order to create a narrative about growth. Taking care of things together is important as it will strengthen the bonds with people that are close to us. Trust the seeds you are planting, and you will grow inside out!” Artez
Artez
Berlin artist KERA can be found at Politkovskaya Street 29 supported by the Georgian artist Irakli Kadeishvili (kade90).
Kera
Kera
Mohamed l’Ghacham titled his mural Ilia’s room. It depicts the living room of the famous Georgian thinker and author Ilia Chavchavadze (1837-1907), who spearheaded the revival of the Georgian national movement in the second half of the 19th century. He is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Georgia.
Mohamed
Mohamed
Georgian artist Tina Chertovata painted on Bakhtrioni Street with traditional Georgian elements.
“The inspiration for this mural came from Georgian traditional ornaments.I made a mix of old Georgian ornaments from books and composed a Georgian Blue Tablecloth that I spread on the wall. My goal was to show traditional ornaments in a modern art shape and space. Bonus: there is a hidden story of a woman entrepreneur – a writer, a doctor, an agronomist, and a winemaker.” Tina Chertova
Tina Chertova
The Tbilisi Mural Fest continues to grow and develop, you can find Large-scale murals in the open-air gallery by international artists such as Innerfields, Case Maclaim, Artez, INO, and Georgian artists like Dante, Giorgi Maskharashvili, V45, Irakli Kadeishvili, Zviad Esartia, Monkeybird, Faith47, JDL (Holland), Aphe and NOAH, MAZZA, 1010 , KADE 90 and David Samkharadze.
