Zezao paints prolifically in well-hidden places, from the abandoned ruins of the Carandiru Prison to the depths of São Paulo's sewers. Painting in the sewers is not for the faint-hearted and proper equipment is essential. Undeterred by flash flooding or the risk of diseases, Zezao has made the sewers his own personal world of exploration with very few painters foolhardy enough to follow.In the sewers he paints organic shapes that he calls “flops” and with bigger murals he has developed a distinctive psychedelic style. In a city that is often unforgiving, he makes art in the streets “to leave his personal brand and feel like a part of this city that casts people away”.
Tristan Manco is author of GraffitiBrasil, Thames & Hudson