It's good to see these two hugging figures every day on the way from home to Juárez metro station. It's as if the city embraces you.
Michel Curiel, lives in the neighbourhood
It's hard to believe that every time you leave the Juárez metro station, two foxes compel you to look upwards. This mural, which adds color to the cityscape of Mexico City, is called Only Love (Solo amor). The creators of the work are graffiti artists and couple, Arturo Cejundo Limón and Eduardo Dávila Arias (also known as Arty & Chikle). Their huge work, which is considered a break with the heteronormativity of street art, shows two foxes in shades of grey embracing each other at full moon.
"We were invited by the Museo del Juguete Antiguo, MUJAM and the Instituto de la Juventud, INJUVE. They gave us a lot of freedom in the design and were already enthusiastic about our sketch," the two artists say.
Although Only Love doesn’t feature any bright colors, it strengthens the LGBTTTI community through its two male figures who show their love for each other: "We are touched and filled with the feeling that others feel represented in the community. The mural is a way of saying, "Here we are."
Although Mexico City was declared gay-friendly in November 2015, there is still work to be done. The monumental work of Arty & Chikle is not only a form of visualization, but also opens the way to a harmonious coexistence with those outside the community.
Although there are other LGBT-related murals in Mexico City, this one is very explicit:
"(Only Love) is something simple, with great expressiveness, but above all it is a milestone in graffiti," they said knowing that there is still homophobia and machismo in street art. Such a mural, representing diversity, shows that street art can be a friendly environment for all.
Whether you are part of the LGBTTTI community or not, each time you walk past Juárez metro station you will look up to see love - the representation of love.
More than just Technology
It's not the first time they've painted in large format, but this time Arty & Chikle had technical problems: "Once, while we were painting, we were stuck on the swing for two hours. Neither of us had a mobile phone with us and our helper had just left. So we had to wait until he came back. Then we were dizzy for a week."
About the artists
Before founding the duo Arty & Chikle, Arturo Cejundo Limón (Arty) and Eduardo Dávila Arias (Chikle) had already established reputations in the Mexican graffiti scene. But the two only got to know each other when a friend invited them to exhibit together: "We started to meet and paint together. Little by little our relationship developed and our joint project Arty & Chikle was born," they say.
Arty & Chikle have spread their colourful figures throughout the city and have also worked on the walls of various cultural institutions, such as the Museo del Juguete Antiguo (MUJAM) and the Goethe-Institut Mexico.
