With the first edition of the Malta Graffiti Youth Mural Project now complete, Malta and Gozo have gained three bright and beautiful murals. American street artist Damien ‘Dmnology’ Perdue tells Jo Caruana why street art deserves to be seen as a symbol of positivity worldwide.
Street art often divides opinion and, like most of the best things in life, some people love it while others loathe it.
American street artist Damien ‘Dmnology’ Perdue, meanwhile, is an advocate for it and he uses it as his tool to reach out to young people and inspire their artistic talents. In fact, Perdue recently travelled to Malta to work on three dynamic projects that have really brightened up key areas around the island.
“I have been a graffiti artist for over 20 years, having grown up in Chicago, which is one of the US cities where street art first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s,” says Perdue.
“It started as a way for inner city kids to express themselves at a time when they were frustrated by their limitations, but spray paint was cheap. Since then, it has grown into a massive global industry and has found its place on the worldwide arts scene. It has definitely grown to be appreciated and become engrained in mainstream society.”
As a result of his own background and positive experience with street art, Perdue was encouraged to develop projects that get children involved in it too. He started working internationally in 2009 and has since held street art projects in Germany, France and now Malta.
“Four years ago the US Embassy in Frankfurt sponsored me to create a workshop there and the fantastic results made me realise the great potential of this project.
“So, this year, I was thrilled when the US Embassy here invited me over and supported me to work on three distinct projects. Their help has been invaluable.
We wanted to create something to showcase diversity while brightening the ward
“This was my fourth visit to Malta in recent years and I am always pleased to come here as the street art scene is really on the up and it’s exciting to be part of that in some way.”
Perdue’s first project was centred around the Cottonera Resource Centre and the College of St Margaret in Cottonera. He spent five days working with 25 children on a mural in the centre of the space.
“The theme for this one was world unity. The kids helped me create a concept that shows unity between Malta and Chicago, even though they’re on opposite sides of the world.”
Perdue crafted the basic concept and the children, who were aged 10 and under, added other elements. Many of them chimed in with ideas, such as the addition of a rainbow, a luzzu (the traditional Maltese boat) and flags.
“I then drew the sketch and the kids filled it in, so it was a bit like using a colouring book – except on a much larger scale. I showed them the various techniques they could use with the spray cans, including how to get finer or thicker lines, how to fill colours in and how to create different shapes... they were absolutely brilliant at it. I then added the final touches and it was complete.”
Perdue believes the mural has created a beautiful legacy for the project.
“It will be there for a long time and the kids will be able to see it as they walk between classes or go for a break and know that they contributed to it. Street art has a way of stimulating people and making them smile and I think that’s fantastic.
“The kids also learnt a lot about good teamwork and I was impressed by how well they pulled the same rope, even though they didn’t really know each other before this project. The skills they acquired will definitely stay with them for many years.”
Having completed the Cottonera project, the artist then headed to Gozo to work on another mural, this time at the Gozo College Secondary School.
There, he worked with a set of 20 slightly older children on an even larger mural that also depicts world unity.
“The kids loved coming up with ideas for the theme and we settled on an image of the world with hands around it. However, we took it a step further – one of the children wanted the hands to turn into birds, another wanted books depicting the words ‘embracing diversity’ and another wanted to incorporate trees and nature. So, I went home that night and found ways to meld all their ideas together and the result seems to be exactly what they had in mind.”
Perdue says that the children took to the process like ducks to water and even developed technical skills of their own over the course of the five-day workshop.
“It was really interesting to see their individual talents emerge and the result beautifully represents the school’s motto, which happens to be ‘embracing diversity’.”
After completing both of those murals, Perdue was contacted by Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and asked to create a third, this time within the children’s emergency ward at Mater Dei Hospital.
“Of course, both the embassy and I were thrilled to oblige,” says the artist. “Again, we wanted to create something to showcase diversity while brightening the ward. On this occasion I worked with students from Mcast, who are training to be art teachers. And they all gave their input. The results really cheer up the space in an exciting way that will attract children’s attention and I hope the pictures will make them feel a little better when they are unwell,” says Perdue.
Aside from his work on these three projects, Perdue also spent his time here taking part in the Sliema Street Arts Festival.
“In the six years since I first came to Malta I have seen a dramatic change in the street art scene,” he says. “Today, there are well-known international street artists flocking here to take part in the event and there is so much creative energy locally too. I think there is so much potential for street art in Malta. Aside from the incredible amount of available wall space, there’s also so much talent here. I have been very impressed by what I have seen.”
Finally, I ask Perdue whether the street art community has a code of ethics or whether any wall can be seen as a potential canvas.
“There are definitely rules,” he says. “We want to create beauty not damage and we don’t paint on private property.
“I can understand why some people would be sceptical, but my reply to them is always that graffiti was one of the first things man ever did. He mixed berries to create colour and painted it on the wall of his cave. My belief is that, so long as street art is created in context and with permission, then it is extremely beautiful and can bring a lot of positivity to a space. I hope to see Malta embrace that even more in the years to come.”