‘Strappo’ by Giovanni Ozzola: Preserving the Histories on the Walls of the Canary Islands

Artist Giovanni Ozzola is based in the Canary Islands, a small Spanish archipelago off the coast of Northwestern Africa. He often creates works inspired by his immediate surroundings on the islands. His work has become more crucial in the wake of climate change, which induces rising sea levels and extreme weather—causing the Canary Islands to erode out to the sea. This means it is likely that these islands may disappear one day, making Ozzola’s work a poetic documentation of the little slice of paradise.

One example is the series of works titled Strappo, where Ozzola has been using the titular Italian fresco extraction technique to extract traces left by people on walls around the islands. These are often nonsensical graffiti, drawings of hearts with people’s initials, scratches and doodles that may seem insignificant. Yet, they are all proof that human life once existed and thrived in the Canaries. 

By doing so, this series also brings to mind the lives of other people around the planet who inhabit similar small islands disproportionately affected by climate change. By exhibiting them, Strappo is also advocating for the rights of these people, calling for urgent action on climate change as it has, quite literally, eroded their land. This is why Strappo by Giovanni Ozzola is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Reduced Inequalities and Climate Action.

A study published in The Academic has also found that landslides caused by climate change will directly affect tourist accommodation sites along San Agustín Beach in the Canary Islands. This aside, another study published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering has found that by 2050, climate change will cause seas around the island to rise by 18 centimetres, making them lose 148 of their beaches. As the islands rely heavily on tourism and fisheries, such changes will drastically impact local lives.

Giovanni Ozzola’s Strappo series serves as a poetic record of the traces of human life etched onto the walls of the Canary Islands, a region threatened by the existential impact of climate change. His work not only documents the cultural histories of the Canary Islands but also highlights the vulnerability of small island communities worldwide, whose lands and livelihoods are disproportionately endangered by rising sea levels and extreme weather events. By raising awareness and calling for climate action, Strappo urges its viewers to protect these disappearing paradises before it is too late.

Find out more about Strappo and other pieces by Giovanni Ozzola on his website www.giovanniozzola.com or Instagram @giovanniozzola.