ROA (born c. 1976) is a

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

and

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

artist from

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He has created works on the streets of cities across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Asia,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Africa. ROA generally paints wild or urban animals and birds that are native to the area being painted. ROA usually uses a minimal color palette, such as black and white, but also creates works using vibrant colours depicting the flesh or internal systems within the animals and birds. A monograph, ''ROA - CODEX'' published in 2019 by

Lannoo Uitgeverij Lannoo Groep is a Belgian publishing group, based in Tielt, with assets in Belgium and the Netherlands. Its Belgian subsidiary is Uitgeverij Lannoo. Its Dutch subsidiary is LannooMeulenhoff. Over the years Lannoo evolved from Catholic ...

with text contributions by

Lucy Lippard Lucy Rowland Lippard (born April 14, 1937) is an American writer, art critic, activist, and curator. Lippard was among the first writers to argue for the " dematerialization" at work in conceptual art and was an early champion of feminist art. ...

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

and others, looks at Roa's work on four continents.

Notable works by continent

Africa

In 2014, ROA contributed with several mural paintings in the Djerbahood project on the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n island

Djerba Djerba (; , ; ), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. Administratively, it is part of Medenine Governorate. The island h ...

Europe

In 2010, ROA painted a large bird on the side of an Indian restaurant at the intersection of

Hanbury Street Hanbury Street is a street running from Commercial Street in Spitalfields to Old Montague Street in Whitechapel located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The eastern section is restricted to pedal cycles and pedestrians only. History Th ...

and

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

Tower Hamlets, London The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. He originally intended on it being a

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

, but changed it to a crane after learning that cranes are sacred to the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

community. In 2011 ROA came to particular notice in the UK when Hackney council threatened to paint over one of his paintings, a 3.5 m high rabbit. The rabbit had been legally painted on the wall of

The Premises Studios The Premises Studios is a music studio complex based near Haggerston in Hackney, London. The studio complex contains 10 commercial rehearsal studio spaces, one acoustic recording studio, one mixing studio, and various private long-let rooms an ...

Hackney Road Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from St Leonard's, Shoreditch, Shoreditch Church in London Borough of Hackney to Cambridge Heath in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The route runs along the northern edge of Bethnal Green an ...

, London. A campaign was launched to keep the mural, by the building's owners and local residents, forcing the council to change its mind. In 2010, ROA participated in the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

CityLeaks Festival and painted a mural in Ehrenfeld at Senefelderstrasse 5 In August 2012 ROA took part in the '' See No Evil'' street art festival in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, creating a two-

storey A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

high

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

on the side of a building. In 2013, ROA participated in the MAUS project in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, which aimed to provide Soho, a district of the city known as "The Arts District", with a valuable legacy in contemporary cultural heritage. ROA created two artworks in this district, a graffiti of a chameleon and a mural depicting rodents trying to escape. ROA badger

North America

ROA painted a mural in Los Angeles of a rat's lifecycle at the now shuttered New Puppy Gallery in 2010. The mural was whitewashed in 2022. ROA painted a mural in El Barrio,

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for the MonumentArt Festival. The mural is located in Lexington Gardens on 108th Street and Lexington Avenue. Typical of Roa's work, the black and white composition features several animals. The work was commissioned to celebrate the neighborhood's culture, history, and imagination. ROA is also responsible for painting "The Sleeping Bears" in Rochester, NY as part of a collaboration with local organization Wall\Therapy. The bears experienced public backlash due to their frequently lewd interpretation, and were later vandalized in the summer of 2021. ROA painted a robin bird mural at Albert's Garden on Second Street in the East Village of New York City. In October 2014, ROA painted a horned lizard mural on a building in downtown Las Vegas for the

Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival is an annual music, culinary, art, and learning festival held in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It debuted in 2013 as a three-day event. In 2019, it was one of the world's highest grossing festiv ...

. The mural was painted over in November 2023.

Oceania

In January 2014 ROA visited

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

in New Zealand and painted a

tuatara The tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards, it is actually the only extant member of a distinct lineage, the previously highly diverse order Rhynchocephal ...

mural on a building on Bath Street. While exhibiting works at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

's Form Gallery, ROA was commissioned by the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History ...

to leave his mark on

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, in about 12 hours ROA created a mural of a

Numbat The numbat (''Myrmecobius fasciatus''), also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but i ...

which he chose because it is a local endangered species. In 2020, ROA had a solo show at Backwoods Gallery in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

Bibliography

* ''ROA - CODEX'', text Lucy Lippard, Robert Williams and others. March 13, 2019, Lannoo Publishers, Tielt, Belgium,

References

External links

* https://www.roabaldeagle.com/
"ROA, Artist"
– unofficial fan page on Facebook * Vincent Morgan

Fatcap, 27 September 2010. * Freire Barnes
"ROA interview: 'Every wall has its own history'"
''Time Out'', 19 June 2014.
"An Afternoon with Roa, Street Artist"
''Spitalfields Life'', 17 February 2011.
Roa on Widewalls
* {{DEFAULTSORT:ROA 1970s births Living people Year of birth uncertain Artists from Ghent Anonymous artists Belgian graffiti artists Belgian muralists 21st-century Belgian artists Belgian animal artists