By Gabriel Wolenik,Mdb Digital

Copyright majorcadailybulletin

The people of Mallorca and their way of life are the central themes in Joan Aguiló’s work. His larger-than-life portraits appear on enormous building walls in various towns and villages across the island. German TV journalist Sibylle Tiessen chose the versatile artist as the subject of the 30th episode of her video series “The Mallorcans – Remarkable People and Their Ideas”.

“Mallorcan identity and everyday life on the island have always been subjects that interest me,” Aguiló says. “I am concerned with the way we live here, how we grow up, and what makes our community life special.”

With his murals, Mallorcan artist Joan Aguiló gives facades a new lease of life and enhances the appearance of the community. Photos: Sibylle Tiessen / Nova Producciones

Before he began creating public art, Aguiló painted in a studio in Mallorca. During a stay in Berlin, he encountered urban art. “There I saw that there were different ways of engaging with art, for example by collaborating with other artists on walls and buildings. I hadn’t experienced that before, and it opened up a whole new field of experimentation that excited me.” Upon returning to Mallorca, Aguiló decided to develop in this direction while remaining true to his Mallorcan motifs.

Born and raised in Palma, Aguiló spent the summers of his youth in Can Picafort, a town in the north of the island to which he maintains a close connection through the Saladina Festival. Since 2016, Aguiló has invited partly international artists to the festival every year to paint building facades. “We want to transform the place into a public art gallery for both locals and visitors, enhancing the atmosphere,” he explains.

Life by the sea is a recurring theme in Aguiló’s work.

Another of the artist’s projects is “Anonymous Heroes”. For this series, Aguiló and his wife visit villages worldwide and interview residents about life in their neighbourhoods. The goal is to identify individuals who are particularly important to the community and to honour them with a portrait. Aguiló creates life-size wall murals of these people, while his wife adds text by a local author or from a region-specific saying. To date, “Anonymous Heroes” can be found in 13 communities around the world, including Germany, India, Italy, and Spain.

Using cranes and lifting ramps, Aguiló spends between one and three weeks working on each mural.

Joan Aguiló’s journey into art began in early childhood. His mother, a teacher of the subject, recalls how Joan would wake her early on weekends to craft and paint. She later enrolled him in an art course. “I feel that I have always had this natural drive towards creativity, and I’ve simply followed it.” As a young adult, Aguiló went to Barcelona to study Fine Arts, completing his studies in Mexico.

“It’s true that I am now largely focused on wall murals and urban art, but I also enjoy exploring other things gradually, expanding my range as an artist.” Most recently, he completed an installation in the library of Lloret de Vistalegre. Together with another artist, he built a tree from wooden slats, draped with fabric panels. It glows from within, with mats around its roots inviting people to lounge, read a book, or chat with friends.

As part of the “Anonymous Heroes” project, residents are interviewed to identify and portray the most important people in their community.

At the heart of all his projects is one principle: authenticity. “Every artist should be aware of who they are, what they want to show, and how to express that artistically. The cultural life in Mallorca is spectacular in every respect. At the moment, there are an incredible number of artists, writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, and audio-visual professionals here, all working at the highest international level.”

Cooperation with Tui
Support from the tourism industry: the video-project is sponsored by Europe’s leading tourism group Tui and its Tui Care Foundation. The initiative was founded in 2016 with the aim of supporting sustainable projects in the destinations. The foundation focuses on the potential of the tourism sector as a driver of social development, education and prosperity. The Group promotes sustainable tourism in cooperation with local people.