POW! WOW! 2019 recap

17 September, 2019

Past week, the famous street art festival POW! WOW! took place in the Afrikaanderwijk in Rotterdam. Ten artists (duos) transformed the area by creating stunning murals, all in their own typical style. To conclude the successful week, POW! WOW! organized a festival with loads of music, creativity, and tours along the artworks. Of course we joined so we can show you Rotterdam’s newest murals! And…scroll all the way down to find out how you can win a POW! WOW! Spray can!

Murmure

1. The first mural we get to see is by French duo Murmure. At first view, the work seems like a garbage bag floating in the air. The artists want to make passers-by aware of our impact on the environment. Looking at the mural from a distance, makes you wonder; is it a garbage bag taking the shape of a bird, or is it a bird taking the shape of a garbage bag? For this specific wall, the artists turned around the design, so at least the figure floats in the direction of freedom. The brush-painted work makes a beautiful statement without being too pushy.

Dourone

2. Around the corner, we find the work from Dourone and Audrey. Dourone is inspired by the image a digital movement creates when it crashes when the image completely changes due to the visibility of pixels. When a moment from seconds ago flows into the moment that follows. The work reflects the passing of time in a static image. This work is also created with brushes, creating a stunning combination of colors.

Said Kinos

3. The next stop is the outstanding work from Said Kinos. His work is a metaphor for the visual overkill we get from social media. Because there is so much information on the web, it’s almost impossible to read and understand all the letters. Said Kinos shows this in his work by picturing fragmented letters where you can’t make words from. We love the gradient color in this work.

Woes

4. The third mural of the festival is by Hawain artist Woes, the artist known for his panda’s. The story about his work and how he started creating pandas is inspiring and a nice reminder of how a recognizable style can start. Woes’ first panda was created by accident, as he once wanted to make a grizzly bear at a festival but discovered there was no paint available in the colors he wanted to use. The grizzly bear turned out looking much more like a panda. Due to the enthusiastic reactions, he continued making panda’s and started to learn more about the endangered species. Woes figured, that if he were an endangered species, he would be furious. He started to give his panda’s emotions most suitable for their situation. The panda on his POW! WOW! mural reflects the artist himself, as seen by the Hawaiian flowers, the orange had and the pins referring to Woes’ favorite hip-hop artists.

Didier Jaba Mathieu

5. Next up is Didier Jaba Mathieu from Colombia, who might have painted the most difficult mural in his career so far. Just 3 days before POW! WOW! started, he decided to use an older design instead of the idea he intended to use in Rotterdam, as the older design was a better match with this specific wall. Because the paint was already ordered, he completely improvised the color use, so the old and new design still have some kind of connection in the end result. The mural turned out impressive and almost alien alike, arising like a statue.

Danny Rumbl

6. The Dutch Danny Rumbl is a huge animation fan and fascinated by movement in designs. For this mural, he combined several of his favorite characters, in combination with running legs as everyone can identify themselves with them. We all want to move forward. When you take place at the yellow tile in front of the artwork, the lines of the 3d part of the wall all come together.

Nina Valkhoff

7. Rotterdam artist Nina Valkwoff made a stunning mural with magical colors. She portraits animals that people usually find a little scary. She shows them with magic, giving them a soul, so we get to know them better and appreciate them more. She gave the two bats in this mural a little friend, the parrot joins them and invites you to get to know the duo better.

Super A

rotterdam street art pow wow Supar A — picture by Martine Kiers

8. Another great mural, and one of the public’s favorites from POW! WOW! 2018 is by Super A. Super A created an impressive personal style by his series of cartoons wrapped around figures. With this mural, he kept a long-held promise with his son: the little guy portraited is him.

Smug & Telmomiel

telmo miel smug pow wow rotterdam street art

9. The final mural of the tour is a collaboration between Smug and Dutch artist duo Telmomiel, that worked out amazingly. They created a mural where both their typical styles strengthen each other beautifully. Smug made a skeleton for the Rotterdam mural, because when we strip the entire outside of a person, loose al of our differences, we all look the same. Smug’s skeleton mirrors and works together perfectly with Telmomiel’s lady.

smok pow wow rotterdam — picture by Smok

10. Another mural is a little unusual and a bit further from the festival site because it’s in the water! Belgium artist Smok painted a floating canvas on a boat, which turned out perfect for the surroundings.