The muralist Matías Mata works under the pseudonym Sabotaje al montage. With his muralist art, he fills the streets of Tenerife with art and color to vindicate social problems.
Known as Sabotaje al montage, Matías Mata is a native of Lanzarote and has a degree in Fine Arts and began, at just 17 years of age, to create graffiti in the Las Escaleritas neighborhood, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. His artistic name reflects the desire to protest against contemporary society. At the beginning of it, he signed as Wip accompanied by the drawing of a worm, although later he transformed it until he reached the current pseudonym. Over the years, his art evolved into spray-painted murals, known as ephemera. He has painted in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe and in his works he plays with social and environmental themes, where he also works with figuration. «Through my photos I represent these concepts and also other facets, such as color and abstraction, which have accompanied me since my beginnings in graffiti», explains the artist. Mata’s inspiration comes from different creative branches such as design, photography and all the arts that the artist has studied. When making a mural, the inspiration is based on the concept of each one. «Normally, I take photos of the places I go before painting and creating a dialogue with the environment, since they are the ones who will coexist with the mural. This is how I generate that connection,” says Mata.
The creations made by artists like Matías Mata are carried out with great care. «All the murals are like a son, from the moment he is born until they grow old. Like life”, reflects the muralist. The inspiration, in his case, came from many artists and, although he does not have a specific reference, at the beginning of the graffiti he was fixed on a mural by the writer Pumuky, made in the Altavista neighborhood, in the capital of Gran Canaria. Mata recognizes it as a boost to his creativity.
When creating a mural, the artist asks the owner of the wall, building or structure for permission and, if he gets the go-ahead, the creation process begins. First, he photographs the neighborhood to get to know its atmosphere; then he makes a sketch to establish well the idea he has in mind. However, during the process he tends to improvise quite a bit, something he inherited from graffiti. One of his most personal and significant works, located in La Laguna, is a tribute to people who care for dependent elderly people. The mural shows a caregiver holding two elderly people sitting on a bench in her arms, symbolizing their protection.
One of the characteristics that distinguishes Mata is his role as a storyteller of his life and his environment through figurative art. Through striking colors, he carries out significant works with protagonists, to whom he thus pays homage, or situations that are worth capturing for him.
Contrary to what many think, Sabotaje al montage values graffiti as a discipline that has provided a positive foundation for his growth as a muralist. “It doesn’t affect me at all, rather it enriches me,” he says. So much so, that for Mata both doctrines were born on the street, which allows each artist to express themselves however they want.
The artist continues to take his art to various corners of the world. This year he will participate in an international festival to be held in Lleida and then return to the streets of Tenerife to give color to Granadilla de Abona. Finally, he will go to an urban art residency in Bilbao to continue elevating his artistic name and for society to identify this urban entity as Sabotaje al montage.
