Las 3000 viviendas, Sevilla, Spain.
August, 2023.
Las Tres Mil Viviendas, a Gypsy ghetto on Sevilla’s northern periphery, was conceived as social housing built in the late 60’s intended to displace and segregate the Gypsy population. The mural positions itself as a point of reflection, comparing the tactics by which plants and people adapt to constrained, hostile environments. It addresses how bodies and vegetation negotiate margins, make use of vacancy, and claim spaces where they flourish.
To me the work is a tribute to the residents and life of the neighborhood — their humanity and self autocracy. Despite contextual complexities, the area retains a palpable joy and vitality; I was welcomed with friendship and neighborhood care, experienced a healthy quotidianity during my stay, and felt at home.