Main Street mural project completed, showcasing historic catalogue of culture

By Neve Clinton

Kyrane Lia, the artist commissioned by the Gibraltar Government to paint the Rock-shaped bollards along Main Street, completed her year-long project consisting of 17 murals and was recently seen touching up the wear and tear on earlier pieces.

She told the Chronicle that the process has been nerve-wracking, but also extremely rewarding, as she has received overwhelming praise from locals, lots of interest from tourists, and the opportunity to connect with people and hear stories she never knew of before, through the medium of art in this inherently social setting.

She explained, “as an artist, it's always very nerve-wracking to expose your artwork, whether it be a gallery or anywhere, but this was even more nerve-wracking because I'm not just showing the public an already made painting. It's me starting from the very beginning… it's complete exposure, and it's something I've never experienced before”.

However, the entire experience has been “absolutely amazing” for her.

As a big fan of Gibraltar’s history, having based her university work on depicting local history through art, Ms Lia has appreciated the anecdotes shared with her by members of the older generation throughout this process.

“When I start painting, the amount of people who've come and have stopped to have a chat about what it is that I'm painting, the older generation, where they've spoken to me about the Montague Bathing Pavilion, how they really missed it, how that was the first time where they learned how to swim,” she shared.

She has also been able to meet some of the people featured in her paintings, for example, the child in the iconic photo from the closed frontier years, now grown up: “I was fortunate enough to have met, the very first painting that I did of the grandfather holding his grandson. They got into contact with me via social media, and I actually met the baby…That was amazing.”

Beyond the process of collecting black and white reference pictures from the Archives and the ‘Gibraltar Old Photos’ Facebook page, being able to speak to the people who hold these memories of times gone by, adds colour to the stories and to her understanding of Gibraltar’s history.

She said, “it's been a massive learning experience for me as well.”

“Like, even though I did my research [beforehand], by actually doing it, I've learned even more because of the actual people telling me their stories.”
“If I would have just had the photo, me in my house painting, it wouldn't have been the same.”

“It's been really nice how people have been reaching out, the people who have actually experienced what it is that I'm painting. So, I feel like I'm living a bit what they lived through”, she added.

Additionally, Ms Lia has appreciated the opportunity to depict causes close to her heart, for example, through her painting of the Gibraltar nurses which features her grandmother, but is also an ode to the GHA as a whole and her parents, who were nurses too.

Having suffered from ulcerative colitis since she was 18, and more recently two slipped discs in her lower back, showing gratitude to the GHA in this way was very meaningful to her:

“I feel like I owe a lot to the GHA and the system, it's thanks to them that I am much better now and that I'm in remission”, adding, “I really wanted one, like, as a way to say thank you to all those [in the GHA], obviously now recently with Covid as well, for how much they really helped the community.”

“So I really feel that, even though it's a specific year and day, that painting, but I feel like it can represent a lot for Gibraltar, just that one bollard.”

Ms Lia expressed that the best part of this cultural initiative for her has been the immense positive feedback from locals: “A lot of the older generation, they tap me on my shoulder while I'm painting and they tell me ‘thank you’. On social media, the amount of people commenting and writing messages in, saying thank you for what I'm doing.”

She added, “it's been amazing because it's not just the older generation, I also get young people. Very young children, they come up and they start asking me, so it's them learning about Gibraltar's history as well.”

“It's not just for the older generation to relive what they went through”.

As a teacher by profession, this opportunity to educate the younger generations with her passion for history through art, as well as keep these stories alive by making them part of the furniture of the Rock’s everyday life, has proven to be invaluable for her.

Furthermore, she explained the same can be said for tourists: “They come and they can also learn from it”, highlighting that, through her conversations with tourists about Gibraltar's past, she has discovered the response is one of surprise and intrigue:

“They are quite shocked and are trying to understand, like, our culture, not just the history, but also about what makes a Gibraltarian a Gibraltarian.”

“I mean, even just last night while I was painting, I had a little Spanish girl, she was very, very curious. She must have been about eight years old, she was quite young. She was really interested in what I was painting, so I was explaining to her everything.”

“Even she was saying that she finds it amazing that she's never been to a place like Gibraltar before and how the Gibraltarians she's found are very, very nice people. That was really sweet.”

Ms Lia extended her thanks to Gibraltar Cultural Services, saying “at the end of the day, if it wouldn't have been for them, this project would have never happened”, and to her middle school art teacher, Mr Montero, who inspired her to become an artist, adding “it's because of him and the school visits to the Convent, that really sparked my passion for Gibraltar’s history”.

She also expressed gratitude to the people of Gibraltar who have shaped its rich history and provided scenes worthy of showcasing on a mural: “The only reason why I've been able to do this is because of the Gibraltarians.”

“If they wouldn't have done any of these things that they had done, I wouldn't have had anything to paint”.

One example of this, she highlighted, was Kaiane Aldorino being crowned Miss World, an event which she felt particularly proud to paint as it had occurred during her lifetime, and she had her own fond memories attached to it.

She explained that a key aim of this project has been to shine a special spotlight on locals: “It's trying to show that it's not just the royal family, it's also the locals, and what I like about painting them as well, like with Kaiane Aldorino, that they feel that they are the same wavelength as the royals who've come to visit.”

“For me personally, I find it just as important.”