James Jean stands in front of his work. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
What happens when you give 40 street artists hundreds of cans of spray paint and let them loose in Taipei? As the Pow! Wow! team took over the Taiwanese capital, the cityscape was covered with murals by artists visiting from around the world alongside those based there.
The largest wall of Pow! Wow! Taiwan was in the Ximen district with murals that wrapped around the an entire city block. Pow Wow co-director Kamea Hadar with the help of Jeffrey Gress (both based in Hawaii) began with a photorealistic woman’s face at the corner where the two massive walls met. Visiting and local artists painted murals extended from either side. Taiwanese greats Bobo and Mr. Ogay added orange cartoon faces and Debe laid down some of his street-style lettering on the opposite wall.
Pow! Wow! Taiwan is all about colliding the worlds of street art. About half of the participating artists are Taiwanese and active in the local scene. The week of May 28 through June 3, they had the opportunity to work together in the same city and in many cases on the same walls as the visiting artists, many of whom you may recognize from previous editions of Pow! Wow! Hawaii. As the week progressed, you could watch as collaborations grew and extended beyond the newly finished walls. The last couple days, a few unplanned murals began springing up. See more images from Pow! Wow! Taiwan below and see Part 1 of our coverage here if you missed it.
James Jean’s monochromatic mural stands out against the dark concrete. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
James Jean painting. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
Detail of James Jean’s mural. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
Detail of James Jean’s mural. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
Collaboration between Yok and Sheryo at the Taipei Zoo. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
Collaboration between Yok and Sheryo at the Taipei Zoo. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
A mural by Woes Martin stretches along a staircase. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
Woes Martin with his work. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
Warped pandas by Woes Martin. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
A collaboration between Rone and Aaron De La Cruz juxtaposes portraiture with design. Photo courtesy of Brandon Shigeta and Vincent Ricafort/Pow! Wow!
Mr. Ogay painting, protected by the scaffolding. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
Collaboration between Kamea Hadar, Jeff Gress and Reach. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
The piece continues along the same wall with pieces by Debe and others. Photo by Anna Carey/Hi-Fructose.
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