Slim Safont — Young Urban Artist from Berga

Nil Safont, better known as Slim Safont, was born in 1995 in Berga, Catalonia. At just twelve years old, he instinctively entered the world of urban art. He graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, where he was exposed to a wide range of artistic languages that he has continued to develop throughout his career. His works can be found across Catalonia as well as in Italy, Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow, establishing him as an internationally renowned artist.

You started experimenting with graffiti at the age of 12. What motivated you to begin painting in public spaces?

My real name is Nilo, I am 24 years old, and I was born in Berga, a small town in northern Catalonia. I started doing my first tags and listening to rap music when I was 12. Hip-hop culture has always influenced my lifestyle; music and especially graffiti shaped my beginnings and my teenage years, when I rapped and wrote my name on the city’s walls. One of my references at that time was the well-known rapper Eminem, also known as Slim Shady. His music accompanied my graffiti nights, and his lyrics somehow resonated with me. Inspired by him, I started writing “Slim,” partly because I have always been very thin, but above all as a tribute to my favorite rapper at the time.

My first interventions in public space were quite instinctive. I could not point to a single reason why I started doing graffiti. I think it was mainly the thrill of danger and the satisfaction of breaking the rules without getting caught. It also became a kind of competition with other graffiti writers to see who could paint their name the most often and in the riskiest places. After a few years, I became more conscious of what I was doing and became interested in intervening in abandoned spaces where I could spend hours creating a piece without fear of being interrupted. At that point, technical quality became more important, and I sought to create work that made sense within its specific space and context.

Afterward, you studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona. How did this education influence the evolution of your style and technique?

After my graffiti years, I studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, where I began to discover the worlds of art and painting and connect them with my interests in hip-hop culture. That was the beginning of my career as a muralist and painter. Today I am known as Slim Safont, and my life revolves entirely around the world of art.

My artistic studies helped me develop my creativity, especially at a conceptual level, and introduced me to people who have accompanied me ever since and from whom I have learned a great deal. The university allowed me to discover a broad range of artistic languages and understand aspects of art history that are essential for interpreting contemporary artistic practices. This support helped me understand what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, and why.

I believe having this academic foundation was important, particularly for conceptual growth and for understanding how the art world functions. However, on a technical level, I owe my development to countless hours of work, effort, and the opportunity to collaborate with artists who already possessed highly advanced techniques and from whom I learned very quickly through their advice.

Much of your work portrays human figures in a highly realistic style. What stories lie behind your works? What are your sources of inspiration?

My inspiration comes from everything around me: the situations I have experienced, the people I have met, and every feeling I have carried within. I enjoy observing reality, looking closely, and trying to make sense of everything that happens around me. I am particularly inspired by the city and the social behaviors I observe in urban spaces, the way they are structured, and the social relationships that emerge within them. Human beings, their behavior, and their relationship with their surroundings and with one another are the central focus of my artistic practice.

I travel extensively and have the opportunity to experience many different cultures. Learning from new realities broadens my perspective and helps me better understand what I want to communicate through my work. Traveling alone, learning new languages, meeting new people, and facing unfamiliar situations all contribute to my self-discovery.

I like to travel with my camera, observing what happens around me and photographing scenes or situations that I find interesting. Sometimes I know exactly why I capture a moment; other times, I simply feel something that compels me to do so.

From all the photographs I take, I select those that seem most compelling in terms of color, light, composition, concept, or idea. I try to find meaning in each image and use them as the basis for murals and paintings. I usually work very specifically in the places where I intervene, carrying out social research and carefully considering what I want to communicate to the people who inhabit those spaces.

In this way, I take photographs, connect with local residents, and get to know the place so that I can be honest in what I communicate through my work. It is very important to me that my work speaks sincerely to the people who live there and becomes a point of dialogue between them and myself.

Working in this manner represents a constant search for the right image—one worthy of being enlarged, made public, and transformed through painting into something even more compelling than the original photograph. I try to think about what people truly need to see, not simply what they want to see.

Many of the scenes you paint depict everyday social life. Is there a relationship between your work and your personal perception of everyday life?

I believe that everyday life reflects the experiences and realities people encounter daily, and therefore reveals the behaviors and customs that define a particular society. Through my work, I aim to draw attention to everyday situations that may carry greater significance than they initially appear to, situations that can represent specific social realities within a given context. In this way, they tell stories that may be meaningful both to the local community and to those outside it who can relate them to their own experiences.

Do you think the public can empathize more easily with realistic art that they can identify with?

There are many artistic languages that can be used when intervening in public space. Everything depends on the artist’s intention and what they wish to express or communicate through their work. Naturally, some visual languages may be more immediately accessible than others, especially considering that public space is shared by people with very different levels of familiarity with art. However, I also find it interesting when completely different interpretations emerge. An abstract intervention can be just as valuable as a figurative one. From my perspective, public space should be a place of experimentation, confrontation, reflection, dialogue, and debate.

In my case, I use social realism because it is the simplest and most direct way to communicate what I need to express. Depending on the situation, I may choose a more direct or more open-ended message, but I always aim to communicate through a language that is accessible and easy to interpret.

Working in public space also implies a connection with a place and its inhabitants. In 2018, you painted a historical memory mural in L’Hospitalet, inspired by the city’s twentieth-century textile industry. How did you establish a connection with this industrial past and translate it into the mural?

Every project requires social and historical research into the territory where the intervention will take place. Sometimes I gather information independently and identify a theme that seems relevant to the context. Other times, when possible, I discuss ideas with local residents and ask more specific or personal questions. Depending on whether the place is familiar to me or entirely new, the research and conceptual development can be more or less challenging.

For the L’Hospitalet project, we focused on the twentieth-century textile industry and began gathering information and references with the support of Rebobinart. Historical memory projects are particularly enriching because they allow you to learn about the social and historical realities of a territory while researching and developing the concept.

We were able to gather a great deal of valuable information, but we faced challenges finding historical photographs that accurately represented what we wanted to express. Transforming all of that information into a single image is never easy, especially considering that photographic documentation of Catalonia’s industrial sector from that period was very limited. Eventually, we selected several images and digitally combined, modified, and adapted them to create the final composition.

Although your work is mainly known through your murals, you also create studio work. Why have you focused so much on murals? Does creating in public space add value to your personal and professional experience?

Unlike many artists who have followed the opposite path, I learned to paint on the streets and only later began producing studio work. Painting in public spaces gave me a strong ability to understand environments and develop an effective working methodology. However, it also limited some aspects of my technical experimentation and the development of a more personal visual language, since I missed many of the opportunities for experimentation that studio practice offers.

When creating a mural, you can experiment, make mistakes, and try new techniques. However, working in public space, regardless of the level of visibility, inevitably conditions the learning process. That is why I am trying to spend more time in the studio and accept fewer mural commissions. I am interested in exploring other artistic directions and circuits beyond muralism.

There are also many images and concepts that interest me but would not function in public space. While public art can provide tremendous experience, personal growth, and artistic development, I believe studio work forms the technical and conceptual foundation for everything an artist ultimately projects into the world.

In the last two years, you have completed numerous large-scale murals. What challenges come with working on such a large scale?

Working on a large scale is where I feel most comfortable, even if that may seem contradictory. These are my favorite projects and the ones that make me feel most fulfilled. Having such a vast surface to work on is physically and mentally demanding, but it also allows for a much more dynamic and expressive gesture while painting. I use extension poles with brushes or rollers attached, enabling me to engage my entire body in every stroke and interact with the surface in a more fluid and meaningful way.

Large-scale projects also require much more rigorous planning. The logistical and conceptual impact of a mural of this size demands careful consideration. You are presenting a personal idea to thousands of people, and every decision matters. The influence such a work can have on its environment and community is enormous.

One of the greatest challenges is maintaining accurate proportions. Experience has taught me to follow a precise system because that is the only way to achieve a strong result at this scale. Large-scale murals can take four or five consecutive weeks of intense work. They require physical endurance, determination, and psychological strength. Each project becomes a personal battle with your fears, doubts, confidence, and expectations.

Overcoming my fear of heights has been one of the most difficult aspects. Sometimes I work from lifts at heights of 50, 60, or even 70 meters. Learning to trust the machinery is essential in order to focus on painting despite the fear.

Managing time efficiently, choosing which sections to work on, and deciding which materials to take up with you are all crucial. Any mistake is multiplied by the scale of the project, increasing both the time and effort required to correct it. Patience and caution are therefore essential. Despite the challenges, finishing one of these projects always brings an incomparable sense of satisfaction.

Seeing the result of weeks or months of hard work, and receiving the appreciation and gratitude of local residents, is incredibly rewarding. Sometimes the satisfaction is even greater when the final result closely matches the original vision.

Finally, why do you think there has been an increase in urban art projects at both local and national levels in recent years?

I believe we are living through the strongest years of this artistic movement, although I am not sure whether it will continue growing at the same pace as it has over the last decade. Urban art and muralism have proven useful beyond their value for artists themselves. Municipalities, institutions, private companies, and governments have all found ways to use and promote it to serve their own objectives. While urban art has been evolving for many years, it has never enjoyed the visibility and social acceptance that it does today. These conditions have enabled many artists, myself included, to make a living from their practice and dedicate themselves fully to it as a profession.