Solomon Souza (born 1993) is a British-Israeli

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acrob ...

. He is best known for

spray painting Spray painting is a painting technique in which a device sprays coating material (paint, ink, varnish, etc.) through the air onto a surface. The most common types employ compressed gas—usually air—to atomize and direct the paint particles. ...

portraits of contemporary and historical figures on the metal shutters of the

Mahane Yehuda Market Mahane Yehuda Market ( he, שוק מחנה יהודה, ''Shuk Mahane Yehuda''), often referred to as "The Shuk" ( he, השוק, HaShuq), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and touris ...

("The Shuk") in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, turning them into an after-hours attraction.

Personal life and education

Solomon Souza was born in London, and grew up in the neighbourhood of Hackney. His mother, British-Israeli painter Karen (Keren) Souza-Kohn, is one of the three daughters of a

Goan Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, and ...

artist F. N. Souza, and Czech

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

actress Liselotte de Kristian (née Kohn). (His grandfather F. N. Souza's bestselling 1955 painting ''Birth'' depicts his grandmother Liselotte posing

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

while pregnant with his mother Keren. ) His younger sister Miriam is a filmmaker. He has been married to Ayelet Finkelstein since February 2021. Largely self-taught, Solomon Souza has worked on murals since he was 14 years old.

Mahane Yehuda Market

As of July 2018, Souza had painted more than 250 of the 360 shutters in the market. Each painting takes two to four hours to complete. Souza usually completes three murals per night. Subjects include contemporary and historical figures, including

Yossi Banai Yosef "Yossi" Banai ( he, יֹוסֶף "יֹוסִי" בַנָאי; April 13, 1932 – May 11, 2006) was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist. Biography Banai was born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, and grew up in the neighbo ...

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ...

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the na ...

(painted upside-down),

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist lead ...

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the deve ...

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspi ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing soun ...

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...

, Dona Gracia Nasi,

Daniel Pearl Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963 – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who worked for ''The Wall Street Journal.'' He was kidnapped and later decapitated by terrorists in Pakistan.' Pearl was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and rais ...

Jonathan Pollard Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) is a former intelligence analyst for the United States government. In 1987, as part of a plea agreement, Pollard pleaded guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel. ...

Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer ( he, נעמי שמר; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967, ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

Hannah Szenes Hannah Szenes (often anglicized as Hannah Senesh or Chanah Senesh; he, חנה סנש; hu, Szenes Anna; 17 July 19217 November 1944) was a poet and a Special Operations Executive (SOE) member. She was one of 37 Jewish SOE recruits from Mandate ...

Henrietta Szold Henrietta Szold ( , ; December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine de ...

, and

Bracha Zefira Bracha Zefira ( he, ברכה צפירה, also spelled Braha Tzfira; 15 April 1910 – 1 April 1990) was a pioneering Israeli folk singer, songwriter, Musicology, musicologist, and actress of Yemenite Jews, Yemenite Jewish origin. She is credited ...

. There are nearly one dozen rabbinical portraits, including

Mordechai Eliyahu Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ( he, מרדכי צמח אליהו, March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010, on the Hebrew calendar: 21 Adar I, 5689 - 25 Siwan, 5770),

Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Judaism, Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. Heschel, a professor of Jewish mysticism at the ...

, Yitzhak Kaduri,

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Ha ...

, and

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthod ...

. Arab personalities are also represented, including

Lucy Aharish Lucy Aharish ( ar, لوسي هريش, he, לוסי אהריש; born 18 September 1981) is an Arab-Israeli news anchor, reporter, television host and actress. She was the first Muslim Arab news presenter on mainstream Hebrew-language Israeli tel ...

, Sheikh Fari al-Jabari of

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...

, Si Ali Sakkat, and the

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

. Biblical paintings include Moses, Solomon, and panels depicting the seven days of creation. Some of the early paintings are of the stall owners themselves, or their grandfathers, by personal request. The murals have become an after-hours and

Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's ...

attraction, when stalls are closed and the shutters and metal doors are visible.

Other murals

Solomon Souza was invited in 2019 by Vivek Menezes, the special projects curator for the Serendipity Arts Festival in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

, India to do a similar art project there. Souza created murals of various prominent Goans, past and present. In January 2020,

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. ...

unveiled a mural by Solomon Souza on an outside wall of the West Stand at Stamford Bridge stadium. The mural is part of Chelsea's 'Say No to Antisemitism' campaign funded by club owner

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...

. Included on the mural are depictions of footballers

Julius Hirsch Julius Hirsch (7 April 1892 – declared dead 8 May 1945) was a Jewish German Olympian international footballer who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. He helped Karlsruher FV win the 1910 German ...

and

Árpád Weisz Árpád Weisz (; also spelt ''Veisz''; 16 April 1896 – 31 January 1944) was a Hungarian Olympic football player and manager. Weisz was Jewish, and was murdered with his wife and children by the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II at Ausc ...

, who were killed at Auschwitz concentration camp, and Ron Jones, a British

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

known as the 'Goalkeeper of Auschwitz'.

Other projects

In July 2021,

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in J ...

activist

Rudy Rochman Rudy Israel Rochman ( he, רודי ישראל רושמן; born ) is a Jewish-Israeli rights activist. Early life Rochman's maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews from North Africa and his paternal grandparents were Ashkenazi Jews. Accordin ...

and two other Israelis presented a

Torah scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tor ...

, with its cover designed by Solomon Souza, to an Igbo Jewish community in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

just before the three Israelis were arrested by the Nigerian police.

Gallery

File:Golda Meir mural at Mahane Yehuda Market.jpg,

File:David Ben-Gurion mural at Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem.jpg, Upside-down portrait of

File:Spray-painted portraits at Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem.jpg, (L. to r.) Rabbi Shlomo ben David Lakein,

, and local storeowner File:Jonathan Pollard mural at Mahane Yehuda Market.jpg,

File:Mahane Yehuda Market mural2.jpg, Local storeowners File:Mahane Yehuda Market mural3.jpg, Tribute to

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post- World War II operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory s ...

File:Mahane Yehuda Market mural4.jpg, Arab portrait File:Mahane Yehuda Market mural1.jpg, Imaginative portrait File:Hadassah Spira Epstein spray paint portrait.jpg,

Hadassah Hadassah () means myrtle in Hebrew. It is given as the Hebrew name of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. Hadassah may also refer to: * Hadassah (dancer) (1909–1992), Jerusalem-born American dancer and choreographer * Hadassah Lieberman (born 1948) ...

References

External links

"Closed storefronts become colourful works of art" ''The Globe and Mail'' (slideshow)"Graffiti art at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market" ''The Guardian'' (slideshow)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Solomon 1993 births Living people Jewish painters Israeli graffiti artists People from the London Borough of Hackney People from Jerusalem Painters from London British emigrants to Israel