IT’S A WRAP! Said Dokins Highlights of 2018

Sleeping Languages in Queensland, AUSTRALIA

These murals are an acknowledgement to the Traditional Owners of the lands of Queensland. A tribute to the Aboriginal people who have been displaced from their communities, their lands and who were forbidden to speak their language, perform their ceremonies and practice their culture.

Zanco, OAXACA

In this wall Said refers to the colorful characters known as “zancudos”: men who wear around 2-meter-long stilts to perform traditional dances during the carnival festivities in this community of Oaxaca.

Said Dokins @saidokins, Nos falta la realidad, from the series Stories of a Word, 2018. Bloop Festival, Ibiza, Spain. Photo: Leonardo Luna. 

In this intervention Said collected the words of the children of the community with the intention to call attention to their voices and make visible their value for the construction of citizenship.

Sunset / Valentina's feelings, SARDEGNA, ITALY

For this wall Said transcribed the words of a young local woman who reflected on her condition as a migrant in Italy.

Identity and Difference, LA KARRIERE, FRANCE

Said Dokins @saidokins, Identity and Difference, from the series Stories of a Word, 2018. Street Art on the Roc, La Karriere, Villars Fontaine, France. Photo: Leonardo Luna.

In this Festival, the artist explored the notions of identity and difference among the community and visitors who provided words referring to their experience in that remote region. Said had the opportunity to paint on the plane stone of the ancient quarry, an extraordinary heritage site.

NÆRHET, STAVANGER NORWAY

Said Dokins @saidokins, NÆRHET, 2018. Nuart Festival, Stavanger, Norway. In collaboration with Johannes Læringssenter Foundation. Photo: Leonardo Luna.

The word ‘nærhet’, ‘proximity’ in English, refers to the ways our individual experiences are shaped by our environment and how this can be disrupted through displacement and migration. Is spelled using the names and words collected by the artist through his interviews to the individuals from the Johannes Læringsenter Foundation, a resource center for newly arrived immigrants to Stavanger.

They The Lion Grow, DETROIT, USA

This mural is composed by the lines of the poem entitled They Feed They Lion(1972), by the American poet Phillip Devine, best known for his poems about working-class Detroit.

Untitled, BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA

This is one of the most striking interventions that Said did during his artistic residence in Colombia.

Stolen Suns, MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA

Said Dokins @saidokins, Stolen Suns, 2018. Pictopía Urban Art Festival, Medellín, Colombia.

This mural is inspired in the words of Mexican social activist, Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, who has spent her life searching for her son, disappeared by Mexican Government for political reasons during the 70s.

Nocturno III, GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR

Said pays tribute to the great 20th century artist and his optical experimentation.