According to the artist, it took him a long time to develop the unique style that has made him so famous.
"The historical pictures, the old photographs were black-and-white or sepia-toned, and colors were introduced to breathe life into these scenes, so I started giving these images a new dimension. For example, this is what I did with the Oscar Niemeyer mural at Avenida Paulista in Sao Paolo: the colors and geometrical forms converge on his face, replicating the elements of some of the structures that he built in Brazil," he explained.
"I’m a self-taught artist. My career began on the streets of Sao Paolo; I’m familiar with Pichações (a type of graffiti characteristic of southeastern districts of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, often painted in hard-to-reach places) and graffiti. Stuff like that is always done illegally so some of my works were ruined," Kobra said.
Nowadays the authorities are more tolerant to his creations but, as Kobra remarked, most street artists get used to the fleeting nature of street art.
He also mentioned that probably the most bizarre reaction to his creations occurred when Christian Orthodox activists in Athens destroyed one of his murals, apparently considering it blasphemy, even though the creation had absolutely nothing to do with religion.
The artist pointed out that while working abroad he always seeks to make sure that his activities are approved by authorities, just like it was with the mural depicting legendary Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya which he painted in Moscow.
"I was invited by a certain cultural organization which also took care of all the logistics. The site of the mural was also approved by the authorities with the help of that organization," he said.
Kobra pointed out however that during the creation of the mural itself no one tried to influence the process or interfere with his work.
"I came up with the idea of that mural as part of my 'Walls of Memory' project where I copy old images, including those of notable individuals. Since Maya is a world ballet icon, her image was already in my collection," the artist said.
He added though that after arriving in Moscow he visited local libraries in order to choose a particular image of Plisetskaya that would be best suited for a mural.
"I really liked Moscow and I also had the opportunity to visit another wonderful Russian city – Saint Petersburg. I have received two more invitations to create murals in Russia and can’t wait to come back there to ‘leave’ more of my murals on Russian walls," Kobra said.
The artist also mentioned that other than the 'Walls of Memory,' he also pursues several other projects, like 'GreenPincel' — dedicated to animal rights and environmental issues and 'Sao Paolo: Reality Expansion': a series of works devoted to the problems plaguing the city, like unemployment, corruption and homelessness.
He pointed out however that most of his works are based on life in big cities.
Regarding his future projects, Kobra said that he’s preparing to paint a large-scale mural in Dubai, followed by several projects in Europe and the US. He also said that he has one special project planned for Sao Paulo – ten paintings about the ever-present violence that surrounds us today.
