Mural artist Doa Oa’s mission is to restore the visibility of nature’s beauty
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Whenever I come across a mural, I inevitably have to take a moment to admire the artistry of the artist behind it. In certain instances, like at a stoplight or while eating outdoors, I may have a longer time to analyze the mural and ask myself questions, such as why is this mural here? What is its message?
The Spanish artist Doa Oa, who has a new mural on view in D.C., says she creates murals that express the botanical study of wild plants. She studied both fine arts and artistic photography. As a multidisciplinary artist, her work consists not just of murals but of other branches of art, such as canvas paintings, video creations and photography.
In 2014 Oa conceived of and began producing the “Reforestando” project, which involves altering public spaces worldwide. Since then, the project has become a mural herbarium with artworks in Europe, the United States and Africa, illustrating the native wild plants of places she visits. Typically, she creates in rural and urban areas where you would otherwise struggle to notice the beauty of nature.
Oa says she usually chooses rural areas “because I like to see how the vegetation spreads and covers the buildings, as if nature was recovering the lost space, camouflaging the artificiality of the building.”
Feeling that much of the world is so detached from nature and its sweeping diversity, Oa wishes for those who encounter her murals to feel a stronger sense of connection with and understanding of nature.
In her recent mural, “Around Blooming, Around Restoring,” which is part of the series, “Not Your Regular Garden,” Oa depicts a group of realistic and vibrant purple coneflowers. It also includes a separate piece — a detailed close-up of the flower. She says her intention is to bring awareness to different types of wild plants while encouraging people to learn more about the nature found all around them. This mural is on view through May 25, 2025, in the garden of the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain on 16th St NW in Washington, D.C.
Hola Cultura spoke with Doa Oa to discuss “Reforestando” and her mission of spreading the beauty of nature through art.
What drove you to become a mural artist?
During my last years of college, I started to meet mural artists who worked in public spaces. It seemed like a good opportunity to convey a message to a broader audience than working indoors. I felt comfortable discovering spaces where I could intervene and modify their current state.
In 2014 I felt the impulse to create a project around space occupied by vegetation and give it visibility. The best thing [to do] was work in a public space, intervene in it and transform it. This idea led me to relate artistically to the different spaces in which I work and to the vegetation itself, and it felt like what I do has some meaning.
What do you like most about murals? What do they succeed in expressing?
What I like the most is working in a space and discovering life in those places. In some way, you feel like you live in those locations, and they are very often entirely unknown areas that you may never visit again. But I usually feel that I would like to stay and live in many of them.
I also like that once you have created it, you don’t have to think about what to do with it — whether to put on an exhibition or sell it — unlike other types of work. You create the mural, and it stays in that place.
How do you feel when you are making these murals?
I feel grateful for being able to dedicate my energy to what I like and to [have the] opportunity to quite freely express what interests me. During the creation process, I usually go through a whole range of emotions. Frustration when faced with technical problems or moments of creative doubt, sometimes moments of fear at heights and sometimes anguish when it is very hot but difficult to avoid the scorching sun. Sometimes I’ll even ask myself what am I doing there, suffering… But I also feel a lot of excitement when I connect with the process of painting, especially on cool mornings, cloudy days or at dusk, and I feel a lot of joy when I finally see that the process is following its course, and I’ll be able to finish satisfied with the result.
Why do you think it is important for people to connect art with nature?
Art is one of the ways to reach people’s hearts. I feel there is a disconnect between our natural environment — nature, which we are a part of — and knowledge about plant biodiversity, and its large lack thereof. There is a concept called “plant blindness” that explains something that motivates me to continue focusing my energy on spreading information about botany. It says that human animals tend to not see a plant species, not even differentiate or perceive them, as a generic plant. And I firmly believe that to understand and respect [something], you must first know [it] to empathize [with it]. That is why I am here.
Why do you mostly choose rural areas to create these murals?
I like to see how the vegetation spreads and covers the buildings, as if [it’s] recovering the lost space, camouflaging that artificiality. The feeling of well-being we experience when we surround ourselves with nature helps us perceive the mural in a way that is more connected to my message. It contributes to the perception. But I also like to create in urban environments, where I feel creation more as the opportunity to open a door to nature.
Why is the theme of your murals focused mainly on wild plants?
I intend to talk about the plant kingdom and its great diversity as a way to give importance to all those beings with whom we share the planet. In some way, it seems to me that all wild plants involve a combination of factors that would be great to talk about more: the autonomy of plants, how wild plants manage growing where conditions or the [water]course allow them, and not only where humans decide to plant them. I also find it interesting to talk about wild plants because of their many nutritional and medicinal properties and the opportunity [they provide] to improve our quality of life.
I am also interested in discussing plants that are not the most well known.
You have created murals in Portugal, Spain and Sweden. What inspired you to create murals in those places?
I always research the botanical diversity of places, endemic or endangered species and vegetation changes [resulting from] territory changes. Discovering new places with different climates and disparate situations is always an opportunity to discover new species. My “Reforestando” project works like a mural herbarium distributed across different places, so expanding places is always an opportunity to grow.
You often paint different types of plants. What is your favorite type of plant to draw?
I tend to vary a lot in my taste preferences. I always work with plants from [different] places, even if they are not native, but inhabitants, travel plants and naturalized plants also interest me. Lately, I tend to prefer those with wide, wrinkled petals and few colors. I also like leaves with compound shapes, but since I have never painted before [in that area of the U.S.] to research the native flora and inhabitants, I think it is very important to celebrate art and small festivals. I enjoy creating the general shapes of petals and discovering a variety of shapes, their similarities and differences.
You created murals for art festivals, such as the recent “Spanish Art and Culture” show in Washington, D.C., this summer. How important is it for you to support small, well-known festivals that celebrate art?
For me, it has been a good opportunity to create in Washington, D.C. It tends to be very enriching when it is not a mass event. Everything can be done with more care and atte.
Some of your works include large eyes, like your murals. Can you explain the meaning of this?
These works point out the importance of attention, of having your eyes open to see, and thus understanding what is happening. They also talk about seeing ourselves with awareness, which will allow us to live in the present moment with more coherence in what we think. In short, it speaks of awareness and what the gaze, the observer, and the observed mean. I have done various works around this idea, where the invitation went from the motto “open your eyes to see” to “close your eyes to see clearly inside yourself.”
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(photo from @___maz___’s Instagram)
As a multidisciplinary artist, your “Reforestando” project usually consists of botanical murals. Have you ever created different forms of art for this project?
Within the “Reforestando” project, I made some canvases and video creations. I am currently in the process of creating a ceramic sculpture that works around plant knowledge.
When people see your murals, what do you want them to think?
Above all, I would like them to connect with the present moment so that the murals function like when you take a bath in nature and your mind rests in the present. On the other hand, I would like [my murals] to awaken the curiosity of knowing the plant, looking for it and seeing it grow wild in the environment.
If you weren’t an artist, what other profession would you pursue?
I would like to be a musician and create in the world of sounds and rhythms — although, I would still be an artist as a musician. So if I weren’t an artist, I think I would have fun in botany and research.
This story has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
– Story by Chioma Ukaobasi
– Copy edited by Michelle Benitez
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