SA artist puts peace in the frame with murals of icons
A SOUTH African graffiti artist is creating murals of peace icons such as Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela — under police protection — in druginfested towns along the US-Mexican border.
Anthony Kirkwood — whose works depicting images of peace adorn the walls of crime-ridden South African townships and in Italy, Ireland England and Lithuania — is painting the faces of eight international leaders in US and Mexican border towns.
The Pietermaritzburg-born 23-yearold, who uses the artistic name Gasak, decided to take his Face the Peace project to the region to drive home a message of peace to youngsters, who are often recruited as drug mules or hit men. “I wanted to go where the heart of the drug war is,” said Kirkwood.
He was so determined to make his voice heard that he saved money determinedly for two years.
“I have held art exhibitions, spoken at schools and done anything and everything to raise funds. It’s been hard and stressful,” he said.
Kirkwood’s research indicated that the border towns of Ciudad Juárez — on which American author Charles Bowden based his book Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields — and El Paso, Texas, are where Mexican cartels continue to battle for territory.
I wanted to go where the heart of the drug war is. I wanted to make my statement here
According to a CNN report, the US’s National Drug Intelligence Centre believes that Mexican cartels control the distribution of most methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana smuggled into the country.
“I chose the project in the US because my research showed these areas were the heart of the drug war and where some of the biggest criminal organisations in the world operate.
“I wanted to make my statement here,” said Kirkwood.
With the blessing of the towns’ authorities Kirkwood has spray-painted portraits of former Mexican president Benito Juárez, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi on the Mexican side of the border.
He is completing a portrait of Nelson Mandela on a concrete culvert along the Rio Grande, which forms part of the US-Mexico border, and will soon tackle other leaders, among them Martin Luther King jnr, in Texas.
“The painting of Benito Juárez was painted three blocks from the biggest druglord’s house, which is regarded as one of the most dangerous and deadly areas. The mayor of Juárez approved municipal police officers to protect me while I painted due to the risk of what I was doing.”
Kirkwood said he was determined to complete his project — which has taken him two months — despite the risks he faces. “Hopefully I can inspire one person and let it be a chain reaction.”
Ciudad Juárez councillor Carolina Frederick reportedly praised Kirkwood’s effort, saying: “It’s really nice to see someone fighting for all the young kids and encouraging them to stay away from organised crime.”
The self-taught artist infuriated royalists when he painted Queen Elizabeth II with a finger up her nose at an art festival in England during her 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations.