With her classic psychedelic rhombuses, Brazilian artist Criola (1990) dresses the Brazilian skateboard Confederation in a collaboration with adidas. Ready for the Paris 2024 Olympics, the team wears the kit that involved the artistic mind of street artist Criola, known for her geometric and super colourful walls. Originally from Belo Horizonte, the artist has never left her homeland, but travels the world colouring many gigantic walls in which her African origins and all her feminist ideology emerge. The rhomboid pattern recurs often, recalling the flag of Brazil – in her Adidas uniforms she also uses the colours blue green and yellow -, but in her walls it is pink, purple and female figures that dominate. Let’s find out more about her.

Who is Criola?

In Brazil, the street artist Criola is best known for his engagement with social and political issues. His large-format murals explore ancestry and question the values of contemporary society. Her art is inspired by Brazilian cultural diversity, researching different origins and traditions, focusing mainly on the spiritual aspect and urban legends. Today, there are many of her works scattered around Brazil, from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. But also around the world, he has worked in France, Belgium and the USA.

Criola’s reflection starts from the consideration of a futuristic hybrid universe. The artist imagines man and nature perfectly integrated and states that to realise this future it is «necessary to go back to the roots and honour the ancestral peoples, who possess the wisdom to reconnect us to our true essence.»