Pamplona Street Art | Borislavkiprin.com

Nothing shows more the social dynamics of a city than the creativity of its street art. Pamplona made no exception in that and offered more than I have expected within a couple of hours of walking around.

The uniqueness of the local culture, the political turmoil of seeking independence, the multinational society, and the street artist’s mastership and everyone making a statement.

The thing that stands out in Pamplona is that the artworks are predominantly done over the doors of housings and shops. It is as if someone wants to say “Here I am, and this is what I believe in. If you enter, be sure to respect it.”

Basque Street Art

Many of us still remember Basque separatism’s troubled times, ETA’s terror attacks, and political assassinations. I can’t pretend a know more than what I have read in the papers or saw on TV. But walking the streets of Bilbao and Pamplona gave me another perspective.

There were political messages sprayed left and right speaking of local heroes and desires. A slightly different pattern from Belfast’s street art though is a lot about the people lost in The Troubles and less about what they died for. Almost like “We know why. We just need to remember who.”

In Pamplona, it was more about what was wanted… and I guess still is to some extent.

On the photography side, it is a bit hard to capture these artworks. Old European cities tend to have very narrow streets and even with a good wide-angle lens, framing them is a bit of a challenge. Nonetheless, I managed to grasp a few, and here they are bellow. I hope I did them justice, and you will get the feeling of Pamplona’s social dynamics.