Cidade Limpa

For his exhibition Cidade Limpa at Galeria Choque Cultural, Sao Paulo graff artist Zezao hung his work in specially re-created scenes of degraded areas in the city, the very environment that drives his art. On the walls, among the mock litter on the floor, were oxidized metal and old canvas pieces bearing his “flops,” long swaths of blue paint outlined in a darker blue. A manhole cover section bore his signature bright trail.

The spaces Zezao crawls into to bomb, such as murky waterways and grimy underpasses — all places where the homeless live — are usually unseen by the public. But by painting in close proximity to a forgotten locale, his flops call out to anyone passing by to take a look and notice the place. It’s an action that urges Paulistanos to remember the time when a specific place had been new, novel and hadn’t been ignored by society. The show runs until August 18.