Other

Owl Eyes / Olhos de Mocho
Location: Rua Alexandre Herculano / Rua do Cotovelo, Covilhã

This work was carried out in the historical centre of Covilha in October 2014, as part of Wool, an urban art festival. 

The location chosen by Bordalo II, although in the city's old quarter, is a badly decaying, deserted and ageing area. With this in mind, Bordalo II asked for material and social investment in the area and built a huge owl, the symbol of wisdom and culture, using waste and scrap material.

Artur Bordalo aka Bordalo II was born in Lisbon in 1987. During his youth, he found himself between two worlds; in one he watched his grandfather, the artist Real Bordalo, painting watercolours and in the other he dedicated his time to producing illegal graffiti and experienced the consequences. Gradually, his habits changed and he shaped and developed them into the artwork he produces today.

As to what inspires him, Bordalo says ‘I am part of a very consumerist, materialistic and greedy generation. The education we receive, it's directed towards overconsumption. With excessive production of stuff, especially technology, but not only that. We also produce a lot of 'rubbish', so there's a huge increase in the over-consumption of these things. I say 'rubbish' in quotes because it's a very abstract definition. One person's rubbish is another's person's treasure.’