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| Danae Brissonnet, on scaffolding, upper left |
Fanciful creatures from the ocean swarm
a human figure holding a conch shell to an ear, listening to what the ocean says.
Canadian artist Danae Brissonnet’s very
colourful mural adorns one of the new white walls of the expanded Aguakan wastewater treatment plant on the eastern side of Isla Mujeres.
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| Day one - Danae Brissonnet |
When I first stopped to chat, I mistook her slight accent for Spanish and proceeded to torture her with my very limited Spanglish.
Eventually, we both
realised that we had English in common, and communicating became a whole lot
simpler.
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| Danae Brissonnet - egg carton palette |
For a painter’s palette holding
multiple dabs of vibrant colours, Danae had creatively recycled a cardboard egg
carton, designed to hold thirty chicken eggs. Enamoured by the simplicity, she is
hoping to find more discarded egg cartons.
A few feet away, fellow artist,
Hilda Palafax from Mexico City, created a woman who languidly swims in the ocean
with a huge critter – a Whale Shark. Painting
in the early morning light, and again late in the afternoon when the heat of
the day had abated somewhat, Hilda (Poni) crafted an image that is both humorous
and beautiful. An illustrator and
graphic designer by trade, Hilda is close to becoming a full-time artist. It is her true passion.
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| Hilda Palafax - woman and Whale Shark |
Another truly fanciful mural has
been painted on the northern side of the municipal waste transfer facility. The creatures are fun and colourful, and
brighten up an otherwise dreary space.
The
close proximity of the three murals will attract a lot of attention from the
thousands of Cancun day-trippers who buzz around the island via an assortment of
golf carts. With the turquoise water and
a long white beach directly behind the artists, the soft breezes and gentle
waves have to be an inspiration. An
assortment of long-sleeved shirts, comical hats, and scarves protects skin unaccustomed
to the blistering sun.
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| Hilda Palafax, Poni - almost finished |
There are four visiting artists taking
part in the Pangeaseed Sea Walls project happening this month on Isla Mujeres. Unfortunately, we never did connect with the other two artists - Tysa and Senkoe, who painted the mural on the waste transfer building, and the new mural on the tourist information building. Some of you may remember the fourteen
spectacular murals from the original Pangeaseed project in 2014.
Many are still intact, adorning numerous
buildings in centro: the Mercado, several hotels, a kindergarten and our
favourite mural, the huge one decorating the Palacio Municipal (City Hall). The mural on the tourist information centre
in Medina suffered sun damage and is being repainted this week with a different
collage of ocean-themed images.
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| Tysa at the municipal waste transfer facility |
The original plan included decorating
the bland exterior of the Casa de Cultura in Centro, but when Danae Brissonnet
examined the wall, she realised the surface was much too rough for her
painting. Too bad for the Casa de
Cultura, but very fortunate for the Aguakan facility.
How did this all come about? Well, as we understand it, Pangeaseed is the
parent organisation promoting the idea in various locations around the
world. The local feet-on-the-street coordinators,
such as Carolina Marin, are associated with Visual
Junkies. These are the folks who
organise local sponsors, which walls can be painted, and accommodations.
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| Caroline Marin, Visual Junkies, artist Hilda Palafax |
Islander Eric Shott, of El
Milagaro Marina and his very talented staff assisted in 2014 with
accommodations for the artists, assembling scaffolding and carting heavy items
with their marina company truck. And
again in 2016, Eric provided accommodations for the artists.
Rooster’s Café and the sister
restaurant of Bertha’s have helped out with breakfasts, delicious coffee, and a
wind-down evening meal. The municipality
of Isla Mujeres arranged for the walls to be painted and meals at Pelayos
Restaurante on Medina Rueda. Made in nearby
Merida, Maya Solar supplied biodegradable sunscreen and insect repellent
suitable for use when the group members ventured out to swim with the Whale
Sharks and rays. OSEL paints have
supplied materials for the artists.
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| Danae Brissonnet - the hat made me laugh! |
These are just a few of the
sponsors that we heard about. If there are more, we would be happy to include
them in this article. The joys of
electronic publications!
Whether you are on Isla Mujeres
right now, or are coming soon for your annual vacation, a tour of the island in
search of the multiple murals – new and old- is well worth the time.
¡Hasta Pronto!
Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, & Thomas
Or
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