Brothers Christoph and Florin Schmidt, formerly known as Qbrk and Nerd, have come together yet again as Low Bros, to create a new mural for Urban Spree, one of Berlin’s most treasured open-air venues for art, music, cinema and most recently, screenings of the World Cup.
The expansive wall painting pays tribute to the home of the World Cup, while also offering commentary on the extreme social stratification that plagues the South American country. Larger-than-life jaguars, painted in the artist duo’s characteristic geometric style, encircle the concrete stadium in a predatory hunt. Embellished with patterns referencing dense jungles and colorful favelas, the animals can be interpreted as the people of Brazil, those whose lives have been interrupted by the global event. The vacuous eyes of one of the animals stare directly at the viewer, implicating the World Cup fan in both the imminent attack and the past decisions that have forced the jaguars out of their natural habitats and into the outskirts.
Photos courtesy of Phillipp Barth.