Famed Artist Bordalo II Works On 64 Ft Mural In Downtown El Paso

Famous Portuguese artist Bordalo II begins work on 64 foot mural in downtown El Paso.

Early this week, Bordalo II (pronounced Bordalo Segundo) arrived in El Paso with his team and immediately got to work on the giant mural installation at the One San Jacinto Plaza building.

The world-renowned Portuguese artist is best known for his 'Trash Art,' but his works are far from trash; they are artistic gems, partly made with recycled materials creating sculptures and murals of animals.

The El Paso mural installation will be the first city in Texas to feature a recycled art project by Bordalo II (as of now, less than 15 murals exist in the U.S.), illuminating the public about our ailing environment and endangered species.

The project spearheaded by the nonprofit Green Hope Project was founded by El Dorado High School art teacher Candace Printz in 2019, creating environmental educational initiatives, including “Trash to Treasure,” an annual recycled material art competition.

That initiative grabbed the attention of high-profile folks, including Bordalo II, which led to his interest in curating a large-scale mural for El Paso, which will be featured as part of his Big Trash Animals series.

After five long years of planning by the Green Hope Project and community partners, Bordalo II finally made it to the Sun City to create a mural depicting a mountain lion using recycled materials provided by El Pasoans, such as old suitcases, toy houses, and plastic bins.

Since his arrival, the artist and his crew have been working steadily to create his trash art, revealing the silhouette of a mountain lion with a few colorful pieces of recycled materials already in place.

Bordalo II plans to complete the mural by Friday evening, so if you get a chance, swing by the downtown area, grab a drink at the Coffee Box and watch Bordalo II and his team at work.

The mural is located at the One San Jacinto Plaza building on the corner of Mesa St. And Franklin.

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