A few weeks ago, a twenty-something Belgian backpacker known as "Spear" decided to add his unique brand of graffiti to the abandoned La Perla Hotel. Situated on a beautiful stretch of beach on the east side of Isla, the three-story La Perla Hotel was partially damaged during Hurricane Gilberto and finished off by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. It has languished as a crash pad for vagrants, an unsightly place littered with garbage and beer bottles.
Arriving on Isla, Corentin "Spear" Binard discovered the crumbling structure and decided he would leave his mark there. For three wild days working in a frenzy of creativity, he sprayed, splashed, dabbed, and painted.
He created five large, animated portraits of friends on the south walls of the damaged hotel rooms, and two more on the north end of the structure.
Born in Brussels in 1988, Binard "Spear" started out scribbling on the wooden benches at school, eventually studying architecture, before deciding he wanted to explore portrait painting further. He works with oil, acrylic, charcoal, graphite, watercolour, and yes, even ketchup when nothing else is available. His riotously creative brain looks for new ways to express brightness, contrast, and expressions of his subjects. His original plan was to continue the paintings on the third level, but with the lack of access to the upper floor, due to the hurricane damage, that plan never came to fruition.
As of February 25th, the La Perla Hotel has been under demolition, authorized by the City of Isla de Mujeres. Did he bring too much attention to the sad, dangerous structure?
Spear has created similar portraits on the north coast of Honduras, in a tattoo parlour in Belize in exchange for food and lodging, and in the jungles of Costa Rica while looking for new ideas and mediums. A loose translation from his website, which is in both French and Spanish, gives his mission statement: to leave my mark and live wild adventures! Sounds like a great plan!
Hasta pronto
Lynda & Lawrie
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