The anonymous street artist who works under the nickname Elbocho (Little Donkey in Spanish) is without a doubt one of the most prominent street artists in Germany today with such a unique graphic language that his works are instantly recognizable and easy.
Elbocho is a native of Spain who actually lived in Frankfurt, (former illustrator and typographer) who now lives in Berlin and is one of the most famous and prominent street artists in the city with an international artistic reputation.
Elbocho has been creating as a street artist in Berlin and other capitals around the world since 1997. Like other leading artists, Elbocho also combines street art with creation and sale in alternative galleries. He makes sure to create both “institutional” art (in exhibitions and galleries) and street art at the same time. Elbocho’s goal is to reach an audience that does not visit art-designated places like galleries or museums and hopes to meet it on the street.
Elbocho combines a number of different techniques in his work: spray-painting, markers and brushes, Paste Ups (Tape Art), stencils and creation with three-dimensional materials.
Elbocho’s characters are called “Citizens” Portraits of romantic, dark, wounded, happy women. Some of his works are painted directly on the wall and some are a paste of a painting on paper. Elbocho uses a technique in which he pre-exposes poster paper to sunlight and precipitation, then adds color and painting. At the end of the work he glues the paper with the original painting to the wall and leaves it on the street to blend back into the natural environment.
El Bocho uses different types of paper for his work and maintains a very high quality so that it copes well with the winds of time and wear and tear of his works on the streets. Sometimes these are works of 3 meters height / width, made of pre-designed pieces of paper to connect together. Elbocho’s main technique is drawing and any of his work in the gallery or on the street is original and one-off.
In Berlin you will find quite a few huge murals that hang on whole buildings and sometimes also on a complex of buildings. Some of the works were commissioned and made with approval while some were made in the dead of night and hidden. El Bocho always uses the same characters as stylistic elements. He works with the four characters Little Lucy, Cala and Brand, Tina Berlina and Citizen.
Links to Elbocho’s website and Instagram
