God’s own Banksy in Barcelona

By Wendy Williams

IT is a far cry from Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.

But a Spanish church has recruited two graffiti artists to spray paint the inside of the sacred building in a bid to boost morale.

Rector Ramon Mor drafted in street artist Rudi and his friend House to paint a mural in the Santa Eulalia church in Barcelona after spotting some of their work online.

According to Mor he secured permission from the Archbishop ‘to decorate’ the interior of the 1957 building but with no mention of aerosol cans.

But the unorthodox art seems to have scored big with his congregation who are ‘thrilled’ with the results.

“The church has always tried to be modern in ways of expressing its Christian message and it cannot stop doing that.

“This could attract many young people to us,” he said.

“Art – whether it’s graffiti, oil paintings or watercolours – when it’s good, brings out the best of humanity.”

Meanwhile Alicante artist Rudi, who worked for free, admitted he was ‘perplexed’ about the initial proposal but had ‘no hesitation’ in accepting the job which needed to include pictures of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, as well as the church’s patron saint Santa Eulalia.

However the 38-year-old was keen to insist the 10-day-project didn’t count as ‘graffiti’.

“Graffiti is a style. This is a decorative mural done with aerosols, but it is not in the style of graffiti.”