Smile

SMILE is a vibrant, large-scale street art work by the Colombian artist Stinkfish, part of the SAMA (Street Art Museum Amsterdam) collection in Nieuw-West. Created in Stinkfish’s signature style, the piece features a powerful portrait built from a real, candid photograph, someone caught in a spontaneous moment, transformed into a colourful, energetic mural.

The work stands out for its bright colour bursts, hand-drawn patterns, and a strong emotional focus on the subject’s expression. Stinkfish aims to celebrate everyday people and their hidden stories, suggesting that every face on the street contains beauty, mystery, and humanity. For youth work, SMILE is especially useful as a conversation starter about identity, public visibility, photography as inspiration, and how simple moments can become art.

Stinkfish (b. early 1980s, Mexico City; active in Bogotá, Colombia) is an internationally recognised graffiti artist known for his vivid large-scale portraits and strong commitment to artistic independence. Raised in Bogotá from early childhood, he developed an eye for everyday life in the city through long walks and an early fascination with photography, influenced by carrying his father’s cameras. He adopted the name “Stinkfish” in his youth, initially as a graffiti tag, later evolving into the signature he uses across his global body of work.

His practice is rooted in graffiti rather than institutional street art, guided by a philosophy that prioritises autonomy, anonymity, and the belief that public space should remain open to all. Stinkfish is best known for portraits derived from candid photographs of ordinary people—either self-shot or found—transformed into murals through a combination of stencils, freehand spray paint, and expressive abstract patterns. Bright colour fields, radiating geometric bursts, and organic motifs surround his portraits, creating a visual language that merges realism with dynamic, psychedelic abstraction.

Since the early 2000s, Stinkfish has painted extensively in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and co-founded the artist collective Animal Power Culture (APC), which champions a horizontal, anti-hierarchical approach to urban creativity. His works appear on residential façades, disused walls, and neighbourhood environments, preferring lived-in public spaces over commercial districts. While he occasionally participates in exhibitions, his core practice remains firmly embedded in the street, where he situates his work among communities that might not otherwise encounter contemporary art.

Across interviews and written reflections—most notably from the 2010s—Stinkfish consistently expresses a resistance to the commercialisation of urban art and a conviction that creativity should not be constrained by institutions or market demands. His recent activity continues to be visible in international mural festivals and community-based projects, with new works appearing worldwide. Through his vibrant portraits, he offers visibility to anonymous subjects and affirms the street as a shared cultural space, reinforcing his role as a significant figure in contemporary global graffiti and urban visual heritage.