The work of Irantzu Lekue shares space with the birds of Jose Luis Zumeta and part of the colors and shapes that the artist used for the creation of his sculptural installation.

“I wanted to reinterpret the inside of the flowers. The birds of Zumeta give space a context and I have opted to enter the work in the depths of the earth through flowers ”.

DONOSTIA Usurbil continues to increase the map of artistic interventions that, at street level, can be visited in the town. The contemporary Basque artist and Gasteiztar muralist Irantzu Lekue has concluded the artistic intervention in which he has been working during the last weeks. “In total they are around XX. square meters on which it has intervened ”, explains Mayor Agurtzane Solaberrieta. The intervention of Irantzu Lekue thus joins those made by other great Basque artists such as Jose Luis Zumeta, Remigio Mendiburu, Alejandro Tapia or Iñaki Olazabal.

A colorful bet that has completely changed the look of the hitherto dark passage that links Kale Nagusia and Askatasuna Plaza. “When I arrived I wanted to see first the sculptural installation that José Luis Zumeta has in the passage. It was a challenge since both works were going to live in the same space and had to ensure that there was harmony between them. I started with the sketches and opted to adapt the palette and shapes to those selected by Jose Luis, ”explains the artist. The work changes according to the perspective since Lekue wanted to “play” with the audience. Thus, it has integrated the different heights of the passage.

“With this work I seek to reinterpret the inside of a flower. It is an underpass in a building built by the human being and inside are the Zumeta birds. I wanted to represent the habitat of these birds, their food. In this way we bring the organic to a cold space and shape what is born from the earth, the natural ”. That is why the artist has expressed “the abstraction inside a flower, as if we were focusing on macro and inside, just like at the entrance door of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona I have represented different living beings that inhabit the flowers and that would be the food of the birds of Jose Luis Zumeta ”.

Lekue’s work is, therefore, abstract and open to interpretations. “The mural has had a very good acceptance from the neighbors. Each one makes his reading and we have managed to improve the space: with the colorful artistic intervention and with the change of pavement ”, explained Mayor Agurtzane Solaberrieta.

Lekue has underlined his joy for having worked in Usurbil, a town to which he wanted to thank all the attention given. “When we approach creative experiences our gaze changes and that influences how we look at the world; if we are more or less empathetic; if we are willing to understand other realities … The path that Usurbil is taking is very interesting because of that, because it brings art to the street, because it seeks and provokes interaction ”. The artistic intervention will be incorporated into the guided tours “Harria Hitz” offered by the people.