Colour the World
CUSTOMIZE THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER
In 2005 Dutch artist Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn aka Haas&Hahn started working together when they filmed a documentary about hip hop in the favelas of Rio and São Paolo for MTV. Inspired by this visit, they embarked on a journey to bring outrageous works of art to unexpected places, starting with painting enormous murals in the slums of Brazil together with the local youth.
In 2008 they finished their second large painting in Vila Cruzeiro, situated on a massive concrete structure, built to protect the hill from mudslides during the rainy season. The outrageous and at the same time traditional japanese design was made by master tattooist Rob Admiraal.
A random day of work, on the stairs of Rua Santa Helena, where Haas&Hanh and a local crew of youngsters created ‘Rio Cruzeiro’.
After 8 months of painting, enduring long periods of rain, shootings and police occupation, the 2000m2 artwork was finally finished!
The Favela Painting project has already attracted intense media interest in Brazil and abroad. The most recent painting, ‘Rio Cruzeiro’ was covered by news agencies around the world, including CNN, Fox News, and Al Jazeera. In Brazil, the painting attracted reporters from every major newspaper and TV station.
Text and photo credits Haas&Hanh
Like Christo but even better with the graphics. I wish I understood Portuguese, that looked like a very good interview.