Joan Aguiló: Portraits, Walls, and the Real Mallorca

Walls, People, Stories

I first met Joan Aguiló on a hot morning in Can Picafort, around ten, hands still dabbed with paint, a pipe in his mouth — that's how you remember it. He speaks calmly and directly: it's not about vanity, but about the people who live here. His huge portraits, often almost life-size, peer out from building walls and tell something of daily life on the island.

From Studio to Street

Earlier, Aguiló worked in a studio. A few years in Berlin changed him: Urban Art, community projects, painting walls together — that was new to him and suddenly fit. Back on Mallorca he moved his canvas to exterior walls where his images are visible to everyone. He uses cranes and lifts and plans on one to three weeks of work per wall — depending on weather, permits, and coffee supply.

What stands out: His motifs remain Mallorcan. No abstract concepts, but faces, hands, scenes from the sea, the market, or people you know in the neighborhood. His art is loud, but not pushy. More like: a polite giant sitting quietly beside you and listening.

Saladina Festival and \"Anonymous Heroes\"

Since 2016, Aguiló has organized the Saladina Festival in Can Picafort. The goal is simple and honest: enhance facades, invite artists, turning the street into an open gallery. Beside it arose the project \"Anonymous Heroes\" — he and his wife go to villages, talk to people, collect stories and then paint the portraits of those who shape living together. Not mayors, but the woman who opens the community center every day. Not the celebrities, but the neighbor who always helps.

So far such portraits can be found in 13 municipalities worldwide — from Spain to Italy to India. It makes you curious: a mural can be a small monument, often with a text contributed by his wife or a local author. Sometimes they are sayings you hear on the island; sometimes entire anecdotes.

Between Installation and Book Corner

His work goes beyond walls. In Lloret de Vistalegre he built, together with a colleague, a glowing wooden tree in the library — fabric banners, light inside, mats underneath. An invitation to lie down, to open a book or simply to sleep. Such small surprises show that the community matters to him, not just the image itself.

Aguiló emphasizes honesty: you have to know who you are and what you want to show. He continues to experiment, but stays connected to his island. Between Can Picafort, Palma and smaller towns you can see his handwriting — and sometimes, on a lantern-lit evening, he stands there with paint stains on his knees and laughs about a lost brush.

A project with backing

The video series about him was supported — that's not a bad thing, because sponsorship money helps pay for materials and lifts. For Aguiló, however, the audience matters most: the people who stand before a new portrait, reveal themselves, smile, or engage in conversation. In the end, that is exactly what makes his work come alive.

So the next time you stop in front of a large wall: take a closer look. Behind it is often a story and usually a neighbor you would never have met otherwise.