These strange murals are just a few meters apart and I have absolutely no idea what they mean. Jugding from the altar(?) in the bottom pic, I guess some kind of weird cult takes place here. This is Mouraria, one of Lisbon's oldest districts mainly inhabited by immigrants from all corners of the world.
Update: NixBlog has identified the Mandrake on the second mural, a plant used in witchcraft. Thank you!
*
This post is linked to Monday Mural
Update: NixBlog has identified the Mandrake on the second mural, a plant used in witchcraft. Thank you!
*
This post is linked to Monday Mural
32 comments:
This first picture is so stunning. It's art and the bike looks like it's carefully placed there, to make the picture even more interesting.
Have a great new week and month.
Kinda scary.
your post matches the cobblestone theme also ;)
@Dina: Indeed! :-)
surprenant comme symbole, on le dirait sorti d'une vieille religion
hmmm, i wonder if one of your followers will fill us in on this. i, too, find these shots very appealing as art-photography, particularly that top one.
I would love to see the first photo in HDR or black and white. Its got alot of depth and character to it.
Excellent work
Valleys ShutterBug
Well it's different indeed! I like the bike detail in your first shot!
Léia
hmmm. makes me nervous to think about it.
More cobblestones, this time the nondesigner type! I'm with the guy who suggested HDR or B&W. I don't know about B&W, if there is enough contrast between light and dark, but HDR effect for sure. I know a good website where you can get a free 30-day trial of a program with lots of HDR effects if you're interested.
Intriguing, but a tad scary indeed! Terrific captures as always, JM! Have a great week!
Sylvia
That first shot is amazing!
I'm a bit scared too.
Participating in monday mural.
MONDAY MURAL
Weird indeed. Some kind of masonic thing maybe.
Very provacative! These are unsettling. . .they represent something unknown and they are powerful images. I wonder if we might be more comfortable if we knew what these places represent to the people who use them. And if they were very well used, would there be grass growing on the stairs?
Maybe you should sneak in close about midnight and see what goes on. Take an infrared camera, too! I see that there's a fire hydrant close by. That's good in case they start sacrificing some thing on the altar and it turns into a big fire! ;-)
I'm not sure you should have been walking around here in broad daylight!
Unusual, but that is what makes them great!
@Rob: Masonic? Mmmmm... I don't think so, this area is too poor for masons! :-)
@Lowell: LOL at the hidrant thing! Actually I was all alone there and didn't feel very confortable while I was taking these shots! :-)))
Intriguing for sure!
A very interesting little street altar. Who knows what strange things might happen here.
Odd. I have absolutely no idea what it represents.
Great shots of this strange and mystical place! IN the second photo the plant int he mural is the mandrake - long used by witches in their rituals. You may have found the meeting place of a coven!
You've got cobblestones, decay, AND murals! You struck the Motherload! I don't know what they mean either but I bet there are some sly references to mind altering herbs in these images. This is no spray and run effort. They are well planned and well executed. I think they are powerful because they are mysterious. Hopefully time will reveal some of the mystery. Thanks, JM, for participating in this week's Monday Mural.
@NixBlog: I searched on google and, yes, it is Mandrake! Thank you! I knew it could only be something really weird going on here.
@Oakland DP: Mind altering herbs... I thought so too: the mushroom and that leaf, which I know now it's not a 'disguised' Marijuana representation.
This does look odd. Is that some kind of place for people to pray?
ANyway, I like the decay!
A coven of witches?! Oi, JM, we will all forgive you for not going back to check it out.
@Dina: :-)))
I can't help with the mystery, but there's some interesting guessing going on here. :-)
In the first picture they are clearly sacrificing a bicycle to someone...
Great catch, let us know more if you can!
Mandrake? And now I see a mushroom. It looks like whatever they're doing they aren't worried about being disturbed. Very spooky indeed!
Everything else fades into insignificance for me after that red hydrant and the cobblestones with weeds in the cracks.
I'm glad I came in late to this one JM, best comments ever haha! So you have here, decay, pebblestones, murals and perhaps even a sacrifice (the bike) sooo good!!
Post a Comment