Maxines22

Today’s first Non-themed “Honorable” mention is from Trainer Maxines22 (@maxines2210) in Brazil 🇧🇷! This postcard showcases a massive, widely recognized 13-story street art mural titled "O Caçador de Rosas" (The Rose Hunter) painted in the historic center of São Paulo, Brazil (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Pa…). The 2,025-square-meter artwork features a realistic, wide-eyed child holding a bowl full of vibrant red rose petals in one hand and a spoon in the other. The figure is dramatically enveloped in a dense web of brown, thorny rose vines. This project was the largest single-artist mural completed in São Paulo during 2018, requiring over 40 liters of acrylic background paint and 500 cans of spray paint to finish. The painting is inspired by a real-life child named Dudu Alves (m.youtube.com/@dudualves5458…). When he was 10 years old, Dudu became well-known locally for doing street performances where he imitated Michael Jackson around public squares like Praça da República (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praça_…) and Avenida Paulista (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulis…). The piece was completed in September 2018 by the formerly anonymous American street artist who goes by the moniker BiP (instagram.com/bip_graffiti?c…), an acronym for "Believe in People". BiP was famous for keeping his true identity completely secret while traveling the world creating giant public installations. He finances these large-scale public art pieces by selling high-end art to private collectors and celebrities, firmly believing that urban art should change how regular people interact positively with their local environment.

Today’s third Non-themed “Honorable” mention is from Trainer Maxines22 (@maxines2210) in Brazil 🇧🇷! This postcard showcases a large starry mural painted on the facade of the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) São Paulo (ied.edu.br/sao_paulo) building located in São Paulo, Brazil (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Pa…). The artwork is a collaborative international street art project titled "Transatlantic". The project simultaneously placed interconnected murals on both campuses of IED (São Paulo, Brazil and Milan, Italy) to visually turn a 9,523-kilometer physical gap into a shared artistic conversation. The Starry Sky Background: The midnight-black facade is covered in white stars and planetary splatters, signifying the shared sky that unites the two distant cities regardless of physical geography. The Figures: It features stylized, abstract human faces and graphic figures peering out between the architectural windows. The design is heavily inspired by blending the unique urban fabrics, local roots, and cultural identities of both São Paulo and Milan, mirroring fragments of one city onto the walls of the other. Rather than a single traditional street artist, this project was developed as a creative bridge across the ocean. It was created by teams of Graphic Design students from two different international campuses working in tandem: IED São Paulo (ied.edu/sao_paulo-courses) and IED Milano (ied.edu/milan-courses). The entire cross-continental process was guided and curated by IED design instructors Marta Biasi (instagram.com/martabiasi?xto…) and Gil Tokio (instagram.com/giltokio?exln=…). ⭐️ Wiggle that tail, Pikachu!

Today’s second Non-themed “Honorable” mention is from Trainer Maxines22 (@maxines2210) in Brazil 🇧🇷! This postcard showcases a vibrant public art tribute mural steeped in the musical and cultural history of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de…). It is titled “Aquele Abraço”. The artwork is located right in the heart of downtown. Architecturally, the canvas itself is quite unique: it wraps entirely around a massive Metro ventilation tower belonging to the MetrôRio Cinelândia Station (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinelâ…), converting a drab piece of transit infrastructure into a cultural monument. It was inaugurated in December 2017 to honor the 75th birthday of legendary Brazilian singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilber…). The piece was executed using a combination of spray painting, poster art, and large-scale stenciling. The mural is a visual translation of Gil’s iconic 1969 samba anthem, "Aquele Abraço" (which translates to "That Hug"), a song written as a farewell love letter to Rio just before he was forced into political exile by the military dictatorship. The double-sided structure features two primary components: The Portrait Face: One side showcases a hyper-realistic stencil portrait of a smiling Gilberto Gil. The backdrop is heavily inspired by the cover art of his historic 1968 Tropicália LP. Cultural & Religious Symbols: The surrounding graphics incorporate deep spiritual and cultural references tied to Gil's identity and music. You can spot Afro-Brazilian Orixá symbols (scribd.com/document/96159485…), including the double-headed axes of Xangô and the signature white-and-blue visual motifs dedicated to the Filhos de Gandhy carnival afoxé group. The Song's Characters (Reverse Side): The other sections of the panel weave in iconic Rio personalities immortalized in the song's lyrics. This includes football star Zico (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zico_(…), samba matriarch Tia Surica (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tia_Su…), the legendary TV host Chacrinha (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chacri…), and figures symbolizing the "Moça da favela" (the girls from the favelas). The mural was created by the pioneering São Paulo street artist Ozi (instagram.com/ozistencil?dlr…), in collaboration with the Coletivo Nata Família (facebook.com/NataFamilia).