Les formigues, Public art mural in Passeig del Born, Barcelona, Spain.
Les Formigues is a public mural in Passeig del Born measuring 7 meters in both height and width on a building facade at the corner of Carrer del Rec. The work combines text, flowers, and starfish in a pattern that resembles a line of ants when viewed from a distance.
The mural was inaugurated on June 1, 2004, as the first piece of the Mapapoètic project during Barcelona's Forum of Cultures. This marked the beginning of a broader artistic initiative that connected the city with literary works.
The mural reproduces a caligram by the Catalan poet Joan Salvat-Papasseit, with words arranged to create a visual pattern that reinforces the poem's meaning. The text reads 'Path of the sun / along friendly routes / the ants' and sits at the heart of how locals experience this piece of street art.
The mural is located in the Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera neighborhood and remains easily visible to pedestrians walking through Passeig del Born. The site is straightforward to find and invites a natural pause while exploring the area on foot.
The pattern on the mural is designed so that it resembles a procession of ants when viewed from a distance, matching the work's name. This optical effect is created through the careful arrangement of floral elements and text.
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