13 Artists ‘Rewild’ the City Streets for the 2023 Nuart Aberdeen Festival — Colossal



Art

#murals
#public art
#street art

Rewilding is an approach to conservation that allows nature to reclaim its space and form a self-sustaining ecosystem. The restoration practice has become one favored solution to remedy environmental degradation and part of the lexicon for climate activism. In Scotland, the increasingly popular approach also brings discussions of land use and access to the fore, paralleling the way people move through cities.

Using rewilding as a way to reimagine what it means to cultivate street art culture, the 2023 Nuart Aberdeen Festival brought together 13 artists earlier this month. Held June 8 to 11, the annual festival commissioned works that explore the tension between sanctioned murals and the unauthorized tags synonymous with street art. Projects include Thiago Mazza’s vivid rendering of native plants, Nespoon’s reference to craft traditions of the area’s Bon Accord Bobbins Lace Group, and Murmure’s imprisoned goldfish that explicates the proliferation of plastic and inaction as it relates to the climate crisis. Swoon, known for her intimate wheat pastes, even came out of retirement to create a series of portraits spread across walls and tucked in doorways and alcoves.

Nuart organizers said this year’s goal was to “provoke reflections on what a city where art is truly free might look, sound, smell, and feel like.” See more from the festival on Instagram.

Swoon. Photo by Brian Tallman

Murmure, “Anarchy.” Photo by Brian Tallman

Nespoon. Photo by Brian Tallman

Thiago Mazza. Photo by Brian Tallman

Escif, “Pollution forest.” Photo by Brian Tallman

Eloise Gillow. Photo by Brian Tallman

Eloise Gillow. Photo by Brian Tallman

Tamara Alves. Photo by Clarke Joss

#murals
#public art
#street art

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