Fascinated by animals, Roa says they “have a lot more to say about the world than any other creature,” in an interview for FatCap magazine. At each of his travels around the world and on every continent, he paints local animals with aerosol spray. It first covers the surface to be painted with a white paint and then finishes the details of the animal with the marker. Asleep, alive or dead. His goal is to make the viewer think. Let him make his own interpretation. “Whether it inspires him with creativity, that he is committed to the environment or that he just takes a look at my painting and I’m happy,” he says in an interview for the contemporary magazine Hi Fructose. Especially since the symbolism of animals varies from one country and one culture to another. Roa invites the viewer to wonder about the place of man and animals in today’s world.
On the wall of a museum or in a disused factory in the suburbs, Roa likes an interaction between the human and the nature. To paint animals is for him a way of making that nature reintegrate the concreted places. Moreover, he also likes to live his art in desert places, as in The Gambia or Cambodia, in an abandoned village. In Africa, what affects Roa more is the involvement of local populations. “Painting in Africa is a unique and special experience,” he says. “It’s a commitment to the local community and a very intense creative process. ”
Son of the American way of life
If he keeps his identity mysterious, and his face still hidden, we know Roa that he was born in 1975 and grew up in Belgium in the 80s. In a world rocked by American culture. Music, films, graffiti and skates are part of his life. He listens to Public Enemy, is a fan of Beastie Boys and Jimi Hendrix and remains impressed by director David Lynch. He appreciates the creativity of Picasso, the genius of Marcel Duchamp and the skateboards that Jim Phillips transforms into a work of art. Several times arrested, in London or Barcelona, ​​Roa also works in collaboration with the communities to realize his works. Because sometimes they require a few days of work. Roa now lives from her art by exhibiting her work in galleries in Berlin, London, Los Angeles and Melbourne.