Monumental Murals of Anatomical Creatures by ROA Celebrate Puerto Rico’s Biodiversity
Red Tail Hawk in Humacao, November 2018. Photo by Edgardo Santiago, image courtesy of Taller 2C1, shared with permission
Belgian street artist ROA (previously) has been touring Puerto Rico painting his signature monochromatic menagerie around the island. Depicting both native creatures like parrots and seahorses and invasive species like lionfish, the massive pieces celebrate the region’s biodiversity and the biologists and conservationists working tirelessly to preserve it. Many of the murals are anatomical and juxtapose life and death, a recurring theme in ROA’s body of work and one that’s apparent in his most recent rendering in Isla de Cabras. Spanning 160 feet, the massive artwork positions a plump, wrinkled manatee alongside a lengthy skeleton.