Anxiety & Pain Relief

Painted across a weathered wooden fence, Anxiety & Pain Relief by Colombian artist Bastardilla captures the raw tension between vulnerability and healing. A childlike figure, rendered in deep blues and purples, appears entangled yet tender, their body scattered with glowing yellow plasters—symbols of both wounds and attempts at repair. The ivy growing through the wood becomes part of the piece, blurring the line between painted figure and living environment, as if nature itself conspires in the process of struggle and recovery.

Bastardilla, known for her emotionally charged and socially conscious murals, often addresses themes of trauma, resilience, and the quiet strength of women and children. Here, the expressive face and contorted pose channel the invisible weight of anxiety, while the luminous plasters suggest an ongoing, fragile process of relief and self-care.

Created in 2012, this work exemplifies how street art can embody emotion in public space. Intimate yet visible, Anxiety & Pain Relief transforms a backyard fence into a canvas of shared vulnerability, reminding viewers that healing is neither linear nor solitary, but rather an act of endurance stitched into the fabric of everyday life.

Bastardilla is an anonymous street artist from South America who has been painting since childhood, shaped by the streets of Bogotá and their Gotham-like intensity. Starting out in abandoned public spaces, she turned neglected corners into vivid storytelling surfaces, discovering walls as an escape route from boredom and a canvas for freedom. Her work focuses on people and everyday life outdoors — the gestures, struggles and small resistances that unfold in cities packed with surveillance and advertising. For Bastardilla, public space is where real participation happens, beyond mass media and stereotypes. Known for her fluid lines, rich colours and frequent use of glitter, she creates powerful female figures and scenes that radiate strength, autonomy and resilience. Over the years she has moved between lithographic inks, water-based paints, spray cans and, more recently, back to her beloved brushes. By keeping her identity hidden and her practice non-commercial, Bastardilla lets her walls speak for themselves — poetic, political and fiercely alive.