ROA is a graffiti and street artist from Ghent, Belgium. Internationally, he has created works on the streets of cities across Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia, New Zealand and Africa. ROA generally paints wild or urban animals and birds that are native to the area being painted. ROA usually uses a minimal color palette, such as black, white, but also creates works using vibrant colours depicting the flesh or internal systems within the animals and birds.
In 2010, ROA painted a large bird on the side of an Indian restaurant at the intersection of Hanbury Street and Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets, London. He originally intended on it being a heron, but changed it to a crane after learning that cranes are sacred to the Bengali community. In 2011 ROA came to particular notice in the UK when Hackney council threatened to paint over one of his paintings, a 3.5 m high rabbit. The rabbit had been legally painted on the wall of The Premises Studios in Hackney Road, London. A campaign was launched to keep the mural, by the building's owners and local residents, forcing the council to change its mind. In 2010, ROA participated in the Cologne CityLeaks Festival and painted a mural in Ehrenfeld at Senefelderstrasse 5 In August 2012 ROA took part in the See No Evilstreetart festival in Bristol, England, creating a two-storey high fox on the side of a building.
North America
Roa painted a mural in El Barrio, East Harlem, New York City for the MonumentArt Festival. The mural is located in Lexington Gardens on 108th Street and Lexington Avenue. Typical of Roa's work, the black and white composition features several animals. The work was commissioned to celebrate the neighborhood's culture, history, and imagination.
Oceania
In January 2014 ROA visited Dunedin in New Zealand and painted a tuatara mural on a building on Bath Street. While exhibiting works at Perth's Form Gallery, ROA was commissioned by the City of Fremantle to leave his mark on Fremantle, in about 12 hours ROA created a mural of a Numbat which he chose because it is a local endangered species. In 2020, ROA had a solo show at Backwoods Gallery in Melbourne, Australia.
