From the Mountains to Monterrey: Graffiti Art Around the Globe
When the first major graffiti artists emerged from Northeastern U.S. cities in the 1960s, it is unlikely they thought of their creations as anything more than an underground movement. Today, however, street murals decorate everywhere from dense London alleyways to zones of political tension in the Middle East. Artists all around the world have seen a bit of themselves in Hip Hop culture, adding color and excitement to many a bare wall in the process. The United States is the origin of, and provided the cultural foundation for, modern street art. Since then, the movement has gone global.
The rugged natural beauty of the Swiss Alps, a place where blank concrete walls are relatively few in number, is not a place brought up much in conversations about graffiti art. French muralist Saype is not only proving this wrong, but foregoing manmade structures entirely in favor of Earth-based paintings. Saype was born in the town of Evette-Salbert in 1989. He first started graffiting at age fourteen. Even as he studied to be a nurse, his passion for street art grew, and he is now a premier European muralist.
Every summer since 2022, Saype has descended upon the Swiss resort town of Ollon to paint large, three-dimensional images directly into the local mountains. The pictures are meant to be viewed from a substantial distance above, where they take on a photorealistic effect. Unlike most city-based murals, these images gradually fade away over the course of a month as they are exposed to the elements. His paints are even tested in laboratories before use to ensure there are no chemicals or compounds preventing complete biodegradability. There is a greater message behind his efforts; the fact that his works are of a large scale and grandiose in their impact, but disappear without a trace back into nature, is a call to action for better stewardry of the natural environment.
Saype’s most recent Ollon piece in 2025, located on Grand Chamossaire Mountain.
Over five thousand miles east, Royyal Dog has made a name for himself in and outside of his native South Korea as an artist. After brief stints at the Chungkang College of Cultural Studies and Philippines International Evangelical College, he ultimately dropped out of education in 2013 to pursue art full-time. His paintings are marked by a unique blend of African-American and Hip Hop culture along with that of Korea. This cross-cultural blend is best exemplified in works like Walk in Your Shoe (2020) and his artist highlight at the Beaumont mural festival (2024). He is also very fond of cultural icons in his adopted home of Los Angeles, honoring the legacy of hometown heroes like DJ Quik (2025) and Kobe Bryant (2020) in painting form. As of October 2025, his most recent piece is a photorealistic mural commissioned for an APEC event. The mural depicts the importance of fish in South Korean culture, particularly that of the Ancient Korean Kingdom of Silla. Active as an artist for nearly fifteen years, Royyal Dog is like an artistic sponge. He has, and continues to, absorb influences and ideas from everywhere he travels
Royyal Dog’s 2020 Portrait of Kobe Bryant.
Another interesting initiative comes from Mexican muralist Roberto Carlos Trevino Rodriguez. Located in Monterrey, Mexico is “On The Edge”, his most recent work. The picture features an attention-grabbing 3D depiction of Peanuts character Charlie Brown, coated in blue ink. Such imagery may not be easily decipherable to unassuming eyes. Nonetheless, like most graffiti art, there is a deeper meaning behind the image.
The blue ink is a recurring theme in many of Rodriguez’s works, commonly covering various public figures and animated characters. Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, and Baby Yoda have all received the treatment in past works. Blue is a color commonly associated with autism awareness, a major recurring cause defining Rodriguez’s works. The name “On The Edge” also carries a deeper, symbolic meaning. It represents being “on the edge of emotion and the threshold of understanding”, according to Rodriguez. To those with autism and other neurodivergences, understanding other people and the broader world can be a challenge. Charlie Brown, and the other fictional characters his murals commonly center around, represent the innocence of childhood. In this mural, he looks happy and at peace with the world, unaware of other people’s judgments and society’s expectations.
“On The Edge”, revealed in September 2025 in Monterrey, Mexico.
Street art is global. It has gone very far beyond its 1960s American origins to areas all over the world, where it has been used to tell stories big and small. Environmentalism, cross-cultural understanding, and autism awareness merely scratches the surface of what kinds of causes graffiti murals have helped to promote.
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