Social criticism is an important component of Peri Helio’s work. Specifically, criticism of urban speculation is a central theme in many of his works, as in the case of this mural. In The Disappointment Peri presents us with a surrealist scenario in which buildings have taken over all the available land. A barren ground, in which the only trace of vegetation seems to have leapt from the flowerpots in front of the mural.
In the scene we can also see an Ibis-headed being who, like Thoth in Ancient Egypt, represents here the “god” of knowledge. A god who seems to be reproaching the destruction of his environment to a humanity obsessed with construction that has abandoned its connection with nature. A humanity condemned to wander aimlessly along the paths of “progress”.
Beyond the social criticism, and with the intention of making the work a little closer to the neighbours of the area, Peri has included among the buildings of the composition different architectural – and gastronomic – elements of the town of Caldas de Reis, such as its church, the thermal baths or the taxi rank in front of which he painted the mural.
Created as part of the Kaldarte festival, The Disappointment was the first of several murals that Peri has painted in Caldas de Reis in recent years.
