The Column is the result of the work of the duo Persona, comprised of Spanish Jofre Oliveiras and local street artist Dalal Mitwally, who painted this beautiful 27 meters tall mural in Amman, Jordan after the local mural organizer Baladk partnered with Boston-based Street Art United States and arts advocate Sara Mraish Demeter in collaboration with the Cervantes institute to commission this last project.
Featuring the image of a Jordanian man carrying what seems to be a Nabataean adaptation of Corinthian capital over his head, the mural is a subtle reference to the ancient rock-carved city of Petra.
The man wears modern, western clothes, the classic hatta (or keffiyeh) headwear and a determined expression that expresses a determined sense of duty.
According to Oliveiras, the mural talks about our individual responsibility in society and is open to interpretation. The same image can both be experienced as oppressing or empowering depending on your cultural background, being the capital over the man’s head a symbol of cultural heritage.
The way to this final image wasn’t without problems. Already in the early stages of the painting process, the artist were approached by local authorities who asked them to modify the fysionomi of the man, who was originally portrayed as more fragile than he is today.
The duo agreed. But it didnt took long before they to change the hatta’s color, which the duo had started painting in a red and white pattern. The reason given by the organisers is that these colurs can be a loaded topic; to some people, a red and white hatta can sometimes be associated with Palestinian Marxists, a sore spot for some parties, so the duo ended painting a white headgear.
“So much outrage was caused from only certain colours and paint strokes” […] “It highlighted the fear of artistic expression and its power to even slightly loosen the grip of control that the authority has. This cultural regulation ends up creating a linear and uncontested image of the culture in Jordan. A shortsighted tribal, male dominated and conservative culture” explains Mitwally. 
In their manifesto, Persona explicitly states their artistic mission to “promote cross border exchange through creative interventions,” and their understanding that “Our actions are artistic because we understand that art is a universal language.” Not only did their actual act of creation spur precisely the dialogue they’re aiming for, but its results have left a beautiful monument, a soft, warm, painterly mural of the human spirit present in the capitol city of this historic nation.
Images of the work courtesy of the organisers.
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
