Street art in Lenzerheide: Road underpass at Rothorn valley station shines in a new look

Fish, a diver, the frog king and a little Frau Holle - The graffiti artist «BANE» from Chur creates a new themed world at the Rothorn valley station. The 210 m² work of art was initiated by Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG.

BANE combines with his work two different (mountain) worlds, which give Lenzerheide the natural beauty and are characteristic of the vacation region. On the one hand we have the Heidsee, which is represented by the diver surrounded by fish. On the other hand, we have a little girl (Frau Holle), who, by means of a sugar bowl, covers the mountain world of Lenzerheide with white sugar. For the transition between the two worlds, BANE again uses a children's fairy tale (Frog Prince), although this came about rather by chance: "Street art often arises only on the spot. So I also only put the crown on the frog when I was spraying on the square," reveals BANE.

The experience begins in the valley
The underpass was a thorn in the side of Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG and the municipality of Vaz/Obervaz, which co-financed the project. The underpass, with its sprayed and peeling paint, was simply not a worthy entrance for the guest: «The guest experience already begins in the valley and the underpass, as the only passageway, is the first point of contact for pedestrians» explains the CEO of Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG Thomas Küng. For the mountain railroads it was immediately clear that this area would not be used for advertising purposes, but that art should be given the necessary space.

A project with various challenges
In about 40 working days, the project was created by the photo-realistic graffiti artists Fabian Florin alias «BANE» and Cosimo «Cheone» Caiffa. The project was managed by Robert Dörre. During these 40 working days, the team was confronted with various challenges. In addition to the uncertain weather conditions, the architecture also gave the artists a hard time. The arch at the staircase, the various perspectives and, above all, the poor lighting conditions had to be taken into account. «I would have liked to work a little differently in the underpass, but I had to forgo the many detailed works because the eye simply doesn't perceive them in the light,» BANE regrets.

BANE has a lot in common with the vacation region of Lenzerheide. He learned to ski and snowboard here as a young boy. Today, he maintains friendly contact with the local artists' collective NOA. This is one of the reasons why he visits the vacation region at regular intervals: «With my team Nominal, I have already been able to realize two installations in the Zauberwald Lenzerheide. For me, working in Lenzerheide always feels a bit like a vacation,» BANE enthuses.