fifteen years ago, Graciela Goncalves Da Silva For the first time he was encouraged to record his art on the walls of the Buenos Aires district Villa Urquiza. But what started as a space for fun and relaxation grew into a rocket ship that led her to represent Argentina at festivals around the world.
Therefore, his participation in the Worldwide walls from Qatara proposal that brought together several street art representatives offered the opportunity to color a city characterized by desert tones.
“That’s why everything you do is worth it.”reflected the artist who created Animalitolandthe name she randomly chose for her label, not knowing that it would bring her international recognition.
Behind him, a huge mural that caught the attention of neighbors, passers-by and even motorists driving through the streets of the Qatari capital Doha. But to get to this point, he had to dare to take to the streets and make his first brushstrokes.
Seen from a distance, it seems to be a different life. One in which she devoted herself to graphic design, and although she designed and painted digitally, the artist remembers feeling pigeonholed. Also pressured by the demands and corrections she received. “I actually studied and worked in graphic design. I thought you couldn’t make a living from art, especially not in Argentina” she says with a laugh as she admires the 360 degree turn of her life. About this period in her life, the memories of being locked between four walls in front of a computer are still vivid. During a dialogue with InfobaeShe recalled that what she wanted more than anything was “to go out into the sun, to no longer be cooped up, and to draw whatever I wanted.” Until one day a friend who was into graffiti techniques encouraged her to buy her first spray can. Together they painted some happy faces, but that alone was enough to let her imagination run wild and discover a style that lived hidden within her. “Once I was painting and someone said to me, ‘Hey, you, you painted on the corner of so-and-so, right?’” she noted of the moment she captured the impact her works could have on the neighborhood’s residents. The question also surprised her, she admitted when asked why she asked. “‘Because it’s the same style,’ he tells me. And I didn’t even know I had a style.”. The artist admitted to the Monday newspaper that she is not well versed in marketing strategies as she has never left a name or contact person on every animal she has painted. “I sign with a little symbol. I didn’t think about it because it’s an advertisement that can name me. I wanted to go out and enjoy it,” she was honest, explaining that for her art has a social motivation and is not just a means to gain recognition and/or economic returns.
“In fact, I dreamed, I dreamed of traveling the world and painting a building.”he mentioned when looking back on his career so far. Graciela stays true to her beginnings and continues to portray animals wherever she goes. However, he received a call to take part in the cultural exchange sponsored by the program Qatar-Argentina Cultural Years 2025 proved to be an enormous challenge. The cultural barrier between both nations led to intensive research that changed lives Gerbila small jumping rodent that lives at a junction in the Asia and Africa region. The size of the wall given to him in the district Al Aziziyah (Doha) gave this animal, which is no longer than 25 centimeters, the strength to become a giant. In addition, Goncalves Da Silva’s work invited us to think from a different perspective, since in the design you can also see a child riding it as if it were a horse. “It’s a kind of invitation to play with the gaze. From the appreciation of the local fauna, it goes to a deeper concept that says that things don’t have a fixed weight or a fixed size, but rather it’s the look you give them that matters,” she emphasized. Since arriving in Doha, the artist has focused on getting to know Qatari society and its customs in depth. Not only did this give her a new level of understanding, but it also inevitably led to her changing her original design. The design of the background was the most powerful as it was decided to recreate the textiles of the background jaimai.e. the traditional tent that is still used today to spend the night in the desert.
The idea came about during a visit to National Museum of QatarWhen one of the organizers saw a photo of the Arab tent, he told her that she had many family memories of traveling to the dunes and maintaining an ancient practice. “Then I said, ‘Oh, here, here’s a feeling.’ Among all the things in the museum, there is one person who says: “This is the most beautiful part of my childhood,” he recalled, saying that perhaps this feeling could be shared by other Qataris. And apparently his interpretation wasn’t wrong. Well, since she started working on the mural, the artist admitted to receiving several unexpected displays of affection. “People’s faces told me everything. I mean, one day when I was painting, I heard very loud horns. I turned around and a girl driving made a heart gesture in my direction,” he said. “The neighbors here invited me to their house for tea,” said Graciela, as an example of her ability to overcome the differences between Argentine and Qatari cultures. Especially because in this type of society, privacy and home are considered sacred spaces. For this reason, it is not so common to receive such an invitation and undoubtedly he created a connection through his art.
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