Mateu Targa (Girona, 1989) is a visual artist. He studied Art and Design at Massana’s School in Barcelona and at Monterrey’s Institute of Technology, Guadalajara campus (Mexico). Since the outset of his career, he has employed oil painting as a medium, although he combines this discipline with others such as installation, urban art and muralism.
He has created the mural on historical memory, which is a dialogue with the history and community of the Florida neighbourhood in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
What factors motivated you to work on the historical memory mural in l’Hospitalet?
The historical memory project captivated me because of the richness of its history and the coexistence of several generations with different realities: it is a neighbourhood that has changed a lot in recent decades and in which multiple generations with very different backgrounds and realities are living together. It seemed important to me to recover the memory of those people who first inhabited the neighbourhood without losing sight of the new reality.
What was your approach to the project?
At first, my idea was to talk about how this neighbourhood was founded with a migrant population: first from other parts of Spain, and now from other parts of the world; and to see what their relationship was. But I realised that the most important thing was to give a voice to the people who had founded it and to highlight their struggles for its dignity.
For this reason I went to the municipal archive. With the photographs they gave me, I made several proposals, but when I spoke to the residents of the block, I understood that since we were talking about historical memory, it had to be their own historical memory. So they left me photographs of demonstrations that had taken place in the neighbourhood and we chose the one that we felt most comfortable with and that suited us best on a formal and conceptual level.
How do you integrate history and memory into your urban art?
For me, history and memory are essential in the personal sphere and in the creative process. It is a subject I always end up touching on because I think it is relevant when we are generating urban art: not just generating new things, but talking about the place, what it is, what it represents and where it comes from.
When we as painters come to a place, we paint and leave, but that place has a past, an identity, a history, and I think it’s very important to be able to talk about it and reflect it. To recover it or to talk about it is, in some way, to understand the place in which you are intervening.
And in this particular case?
I think it is very important for the people who live here to receive a gift of memory ‘in return’. Seeing photos of us reminds us of things and takes us back to places and moments that we have experienced or that in some way speak about our identity. It is important for me to be able to preserve that without losing sight of the future.
In general, when I work on a mural, I try to reflect the identity and the past of the place. This not only enriches the work, but also gives residents a visual reminder of their surroundings. Dialogue with the community is key to understand the historical and cultural context of the place where I paint.
Do you have a process for researching and selecting the historical themes you address in your murals?
My process starts with talking to people in the neighbourhood and spending time in the place to understand their identity. I’m interested in what the residents feel are their needs for remembrance or dignity, and how I can meet them. In this way I can respect and appropriately represent the place and its history in my murals. I try to respect the space as much as possible and give what the people who inhabit, have inhabited and will inhabit that space, place, city, neighbourhood and consequently that mural, want.
What techniques and styles did you use specifically for this mural and why?
I worked with low quality photographs, which interests me because I like to work with the errors and glitches caused by the transfer of images through scanning, the loss of quality during transmission or the deterioration of the photograph itself, as they reflect the way memory is distorted over time. This approach allows me to draw a parallel with the way we remember and interpret the past.
What is your vision of art? Do you think it is a tool for education and social awareness?
Art must have a political and social component. Although I am in favour of creating for the sake of creating, I believe that urban art can generate important changes and social movements. As long as there is respect for the place and its people, it is a way of giving art a social or political value, even if the image itself doesn’t have that militant power.
How has your artistic style developed from your first works until now?
My style has changed a lot since I started. Before, I used to work with whatever materials I could find, because I didn’t have a lot of financial resources, and I made more material works, although I have always worked with the figure and the human figure. Now I have been working with a more realistic approach for about ten years, but I still keep the human figure as a central element.
How do you see the future of urban art in terms of historical memory and social justice?
I think urban art has great potential to address issues of historical memory and social justice. Although it has been working in this direction for years, I hope it will continue to be an effective tool for raising awareness and positively impacting communities.
What is the dream project that you have not yet been able to realise?
My dream project would be to have total creative freedom to do whatever I want on a mural. However, I understand that the limitations imposed by the location and the people can be valuable in helping me find a balance and work in a way that is respectful with the environment.
What advice would you give to young artists who want to get involved in urban art projects?
I would tell them to work hard, practice in spaces like abandoned factories and find what motivate them. You have to pick a lot of stones and it’s hard, but urban art is very rewarding.
Can you tell us an interesting anecdote about the making of one of your murals?
During this last mural many neighbours came and asked me to paint things for them in their house, like their children’s faces in their rooms or characters like Mickey Mouse in the dining room. They even wanted to intervene in the mural. These moments are part of working in a public space and I find them very enriching.
What artists or artistic movements have most influenced your career?
What influences me most artistically is what I have around me. I really like the work of Pablo Astrain, Slim Safont, Alba Fabre and Alex Gambin. They are artists who are not yet in art books, they are from my generation.
