Tierra Y Libertad. | The Mexican Graffiti Artist Peque
Tierra Y Libertad. | The Mexican Graffiti Artist Peque
VRS is his crew and Peque is his name. This 32 year old graffiti artist has been in the game for the past 18 years. Born in Rivera, Tlaquepaque Jalisco. The nickname Peque (meaning 'little') came about because he grew up being the youngest out of 13 siblings. Life wasn’t easy for this growing artist, rude unneeded encounters with police, verbal abuse from passers by, even being held at gun point, all for the love of his art.
Peque has been part of the same crew all of his life as a graffiti artist, apart from the VRS crew (Verdadera Realidad Social) he stands strong with 2 other compañeros as part of TEKPATL. When the 3 get together their capability of creating large Mexican murals is simply beautiful, thanks to using an abundance of colors, and adding prehispanic figures and Aztecan patterns.
Quite often Peque’s work appears daring; it spotlights political issues and the current problems of immigrants and Mexican boundaries, he unveils every day street life. Peque is without a doubt avid about getting his thoughts across in his work. His art conveys in depth stories, issues which he feels strongly about. One of his greatest attributes is the portrayal of his urban Mexican characters; these characters speak silently, their eyes say it all, melancholy and tired and awaiting a change. He makes it obvious through certain pieces that he greatly desires fairness and equality. Even though not everyone will be able to relate to such art work it is defiantly heart felt. Yet his words are just as strong as his graffiti, such phrases as 'We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us!' and 'If the Berlin wall fell then this one will fall also!!' definitely add to the effect.
Yet not all of Peques work carries the same theme, it may be so that it’s all pretty much related to urban street life yet his entwining of colors, comical Luchadores, self portraits and beautiful women are certainly pieces of eye candy in which without a doubt will bring a smile to your face. He is also renowned for his creative airbrushing and paintings which he sells.
Peque claims he doesn’t admire yet he respects other artists, such are the likes of living legend Chaz Borjorquez. Recently Peque contributed to what he claims one the most important events for him up to this point in his life which recently took place in Mexico City. 'The best event so far was the Triple Alianza, where some very important figures in the graffiti World were involved, Chaz Borjorquez, Saber, OG Abel, Seak (Germany) and many more' His work in this competition was outstanding, with intricate details yet defiantly standing powerful.
What this talented artist wants to achieve in life is to have people see Graffiti in a different light 'I would like people to see my work all over the World, yet not just lines without meaning but pieces of art'. Even though in Mexico the graffiti scene has been hidden away until now it is definitely growing within the country with outsiders taking notice of it, 'I feel there is a lot of talent here in Mexico which has been lost; yet that’s going to be a thing of the past with new talented artists being discovered all the time.'
