Catalogue · BR1 · Selected works

br1

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br1

Introduction

A Muslim women wearing face veil is not something you will often see in mainstream advertising. The burqa and niqab have become a topic of much controversy and debate so if you live in Europe, the Americas or Australia you will hardly ever see any ads featuring a woman wearing traditional Islamic clothing. Committed to raising awareness, the Italian artist BR1 criticizes the mass effect created through commercial advertising channels over the identity of Arab women and migrants from the Mediterranean area. Graduating in Islamic law from the University of Turin Law School with the thesis on the veil, BR1 encourages the public to reflect upon the idea of diversity within society by pasting large posters on billboards and changing their main purpose.

The Veiled Women in BR1’s Art

Coming from Calabria, southwest Italy, Bruno or BR1, which reads as “Bruno” in Italian, is known for his instantly recognizable interventions in the urban space, mainly realized with massively scaled posters and installations. He became interested in street art in 2003 when he moved to Turin to pursue his law studies. The public nature of posters and stencils in one of the artistically most developed cities in the country captivated him immediately and he got a desire to participate in. Attracted by the power of urban art to inspire critical dialogue, he began stickering, progressively moving into small posters and finally to the massive pieces he makes now. While his art practice revolved around collage composed of images from various newspapers and magazines, he began noticing the way the Arab women are portrayed in articles referring to the Middle East in general. After he integrated the images of veiled women in his pieces, the artist realized that they were almost unrepresented in the public sphere. He became aware that even in the ads addressed precisely to the Arab women the models featured didn’t wear traditional Islamic clothing and looked like a West top models. Piece after piece, the center of his attention became the question of female identity in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean societies. In his trademark style that keeps your constant attention, the artist creates work dealing with the Islamic veil considered as division between the Western and Middle-eastern cultures. His work often depicts the paradoxical combination of the symbols characteristic for those opposite cultures.

Raising Awareness of the Issues of Migrants and Refugees

In recent times, BR1 has expanded his social agenda engaging with issues of immigration, migrants and refugees, deeply investigating the social terrains where the identity of people, social hierarchies and memory are permanently being constructed and re-constructed. Living and working in Italy that has been a gateway country for large numbers of people from Africa and the Middle East who have crossed the Mediterranean in search of a better life, BR1 has produced numerous posters and paintings that criticize the shameful treatment of immigrants. A strong believer in democracy and civil society, the artist encourages cultural dialogue and gives voice to the underprivileged. His art emphasizes the importance of intercultural approach and mutual respect between two opposed sides.

Process of Work and Upcoming Shows

In a career that spans over ten years, BR1 has developed a complex body of work composed of billboard takeovers, street art installations, and numerous public interventions. Although in his art the message is central, he also spent a lot of time in preparing and painting each piece. After he spent hours looking for a perfect spot for his interventions, he takes the precise measurements and analyzes the materials that will surround it; the painting must fit into its frame and into its environment perfectly. In one of his most recent project, BR1 used the images of “foreign” landscapes like Mediterranean seaside scenes from Southern Italy and North Africa, that he printed and inserted into an urban setting, as windows onto another world. For BR1, art is not only about depicting your creativity, it proves to be an effective tool to convey messages raising social awareness. By using art to highlight the particular problems in today’s society, BR1 creates pieces that have not only made it onto public spaces across Italy, but also into galleries, festivals and art fairs.

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A new dress for Delphine

Digital print on photographical papersize: 38 × 56 cmedition: 1/5 + 1 APyear: 2016

The Martyr

Acrylic, paper and glue on advertisement papersize: 40 × 60 cmyear: 2015

A gaze deep like the sea

Acrylic, paper and natural glue on canvassize: 40 × 30 cmyear: 2015Next page

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Yasmeen


Fatima


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Nimaat


Nawar


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The best of italian comedy


Dialogo

Tv screen, headphones, steel stander, hooks, lifevest jackets, Fred Perry polo shirt, steel cablessize: 153 × 225 × 50 cmyear: 2015Next page

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Untitled

Acrylic on tamburine from south italysize: 30 cmyear: 2015

Untitled


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You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves

Megaphone and barbed wiresize: 28 × 45 cmyear: 2013

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Visa denied


The Sound of Religion

Acrylic, marker and glue on paper pasted on advertisement postersize: 120 × 80 cmyear: 2013Next page

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Saabira


The Martyr

Acrylic, paper, natural glue and bright final varnish on canvassize: 40 × 60 cmyear: 2015

Faraa


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Untitled


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Jamila

Acrylic on canvassize: 30 × 40 cmyear: 2016

Her name is Caterina

Acrylic, paper and natural glue on canvassize: 80 × 100 cmyear: 2015Previous page

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My sister and my grandma in front of the Christ

Acrylic, paper and natural glue on canvassize: 120 × 100 cmyear: 2015

Prickly pear thorn in my foot


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The Martyr


Untitled


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Like a virgin


Randa

Acrylic, paper and natural glue on canvassize: 50 × 40 cmyear: 2016Previous page

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Rosso Valentino






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Born under the bombs


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Zahira


A lesson in democracy

Digital print on photographical papersize: 134 × 90 cmedition: 1/5 + 1 APyear: 2016Next page

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OPEN WALLS GallerySchröderstr. 11, 10115 BerlinT +49 177 9703963 [email protected] http://www.openwallsgallery.com

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Catalogue · BR1 · Selected works