Every street is home to the rebel,
every woman has a sigh for him,
the stars guide him through the night,
strong his heart and his arm when they strike.
These lines come from one of the most well-known songs celebrating the resistance. They became an inspiration for Opiemme’s mural in Imperia, Liguria, Italy, completed with an active participation of the students of the local highschool. The collectively painted piece was a tribute to Felice Cascione – an Italian partisan who came from this town. He is known to have written a famous song titled „Fischia il vento” („The wind whistles”), which was supposed to encourage partisans to fight. Its melody is borrowed from the popular Russian wartime song „Katyusha”.
Around 30 people using Opiemme’s stencils and brushes painted the letters on the school wall. They perceived it as a relaxing activity releasing them from stress of the last year exams and choices regarding future education. The mural changed the main entrance of the school and was greatly appreciated by the pupils and teachers.
Opiemme is one of the most interesting contemporary Italian street artists balancing at the edge of image, text and collective performance. Artist’s highly symbolic works consisting of images, geometric patterns, letters, and calligrams refer to the visual poetry, concrete poetry, and aesthetics of futurism. Since 2015 Opiemme has been completing projects based on the idea of audience’s participation in the creation of the works. One of them was realized in Lodz during the Festival „Energy of the City 2016”.
Energia Miasta 