Home / Arts and Entertainment / From São Paulo Streets to London Walls: Pjota's Mythic Art
From São Paulo Streets to London Walls: Pjota's Mythic Art
28 Apr
Summary
- Paulo Nimer Pjota began graffiti at 13 and now exhibits fantastical paintings.
- His art samples mythology and diverse motifs from folklore and history.
- The artist's first UK institutional show is at the South London Gallery.
Paulo Nimer Pjota, a Brazilian artist, began his artistic journey with graffiti at the age of 13 in São Paulo. He now presents his intricate and fantastical paintings, heavily influenced by mythology and diverse cultural motifs, at the South London Gallery. This exhibition marks his first institutional show in the UK.
Pjota describes his artistic process as akin to a hip-hop producer, sampling imagery from ancient civilizations, Brazilian folklore, art history, and literature. His latest works feature vibrant scenes with recurring elements like gods, mythical creatures, and blooming flowers, all rendered with layers of acrylic, oil, and tempera paint.
The exhibition, titled Encantados, includes 11 new paintings alongside an extensive wall drawing. This wall drawing serves as a callback to Pjota's youth in the graffiti and hip-hop scene of his hometown. His artistic trajectory began in a local hip-hop school, where he learned graffiti and other urban art forms, eventually leading him to develop a unique painting style.
Having moved to São Paulo at 17 to attend art college, Pjota continued to draw inspiration from his street art background. His current work emphasizes a stronger sense of narrative, where symbols intersect subtly to build new mythical and fantastical universes, a departure from his earlier, more discrete juxtapositions.
