Brazilian Street Artist Goes for Gold With Olympic-Sized Mural

While athletes from around the world were arriving to run, swim, and tumble their way onto the medal podium at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was busy working on an impressive feat of his own: a 30,000-square-foot mural of multicultural portraits, painted on the outside of a formerly abandoned warehouse at Porto Maravilha. According to Wired, in addition to creating a colorful and meaningful work of art, Kobra may have also broken a Guinness World Record.

The faces in the mural, which is titled Etnias (Ethnicities), are of individuals from five indigenous groups on five continents: the Kayin from Thailand, the Mursi from Ethiopia, the Huli from Papua New Guinea, the Tapajos from the Americas, and the Supi from Europe. "I wanted to show that everyone is united, we are all connected," Kobra said. The five Olympic rings are what inspired the artist to go with five portraits, but the painting style and colors were already a part of his signature style.

When it was all said and done, the mural required 1500 liters of paint and 3500 cans of spray paint. A spokesperson for Guinness says that the mural will be inspected in a few weeks, and that the judges will decide if it does indeed set a new record. Check out photos and a drive-by of the full mural below.

[h/t Wired]Images via Getty Images / Eduardo Kobra on Instagram

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