It was midnight on the outskirts of North São Paulo. I was about to meet Eneri, a world-famous Pixadora from Brazil who’s been free climbing and abseiling buildings globally to paint her tag since 2013. She gave us the address to meet in a quiet street, and right on time, she pulled up on a motorbike, and we did our interview on some shadowy stairs by the side of the road.

Eneri has a striking presence: she is soft spoken but eloquent, fiercely political, strong, beautiful, warm, and passionate about her craft. After the interview, Eneri climbed up a wall to stand on the ledge of a high window opposite us, several metres off the ground. She tagged the building with ease, quickly jumping back down as the police drove past. A true Pixadora!

Photo by Astro

Pixação, translated as “tar writing," is an extreme team sport originating from the São Paulo favelas in the 1980s. Success is measured by height and visibility: Pixadores and Pixadoras like Eneri tag buildings by free climbing, using windows, cables and each other’s shoulders for support like human ladders, or by abseiling from rooftops using makeshift ropes and boards.

The rune-like lettering is raw and unpolished; a language of its own. It considers itself a different movement altogether from graffiti, using minimal paint to take up maximum space. It’s indigenous to São Paulo and seeks to represent the urban excluded: Pixadores and Pixadoras risk their lives to make sure the public can’t ignore them.

São Paulo is covered in millions of works sprayed unapologetically from top to bottom. To those in the know, it's a beautiful, radical and indigenous art form that makes Sao Paulo instantly recognizable from anywhere in the world. But even within the movement, the aim is not to ‘beautify’ the city. The aim is to assault. It reflects a brutal reality that the city is forced to confront. Since the 1980s, it’s been seen by officials as an ‘urban plague’ that must be eradicated at all costs.

In our interview, we spoke about adrenaline, risks and challenges, cultural appropriation, and the politics of Pixação.

Photo credit: 1) Ricardo Cases: An Elemental Study of the Levant 2) Tomarera 3) VG

Hey Eneri! Tell me about your first experience doing Pixo?

I always saw pixo on the walls. I live in São Paulo so it’s impossible not to see it or question why. I discovered it was a movement where people feel like they are part of something. I saw how much people love to do it… it’s a mix of love and hate.

I started really slow, starting out with markers, then tagging, pixo, throwups, and Grapixo [3D pixo]. I started to train with my left hand, upside down also. I started in 2014 - it took me 5 years to get my style and to risk a little more.

How do you describe the feeling?

It’s totally adrenaline-fueled and addictive! As you improve your level, you get used to it, and you want more and more. Harder stuff. Every time you want to push yourself to the limit.

With the police, it's not always possible. Sometimes when we go out, we feel like the walls are screaming at us: “Please do me! If you don’t do it, other people will do it!”! It's like you're falling in love with this spot but anyone can take it. We have our list but there are so many other people who want to do it. Sometimes we pass and we’re like, “Fuck, someone did it!” It's gone and you can't do it anymore and it really sucks. I have many spots on my list but sometimes it’s like, "Okay, I just need to accept that you can't do everything”. It’s just how life is.

Photos by Crapule2000

Photo by VG

What are some of the challenges?

Putting yourself at risk on the street. Someone could do something bad to you, it’s not legal and it’s not something everybody will like. If you have too many problems with the police, you can have less options for work. Especially with climbing, I lost some friends on this. So you need to think if the risk is worth it for you.

With time, you start to read the street and your intuition improves. But it's really important to trust the people who are with you and have confidence in what you’re doing. Especially if you're a girl and you want to paint on your own, always let someone know you are doing this and send the location.

People sometimes think they are climbing but they don’t care about their lives. But it’s not true, I have so much to lose for sure. Many times I was on the street and i was like, “I should be at home sleeping and I’m fucking here, why did I come here”. There’s been many times when I thought I was going to die. You start to think about your family. But I don’t know how to explain, I just don’t think I wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t doing it. The risk is worth it for me.

Yeah, you’ve travelled the world with this

Exactly! It’s opened so many doors. When I started, I never expected to travel or to do art. Actually, it was totally the opposite. When I started, I was like, “This is only vandalism," “fuck art,” and all that stuff. The point was to be aggressive.

But now I can see it’s nice how Pixo connects you to the city because you are always trying to get to different spots. I’ve been able to explore a lot of new places thanks to painting.

Do you see your pixo as vandalism, art, or both?

To me, it’s vandalism but it’s still art. Graffiti is already in the galleries - this has not yet happened with pixo. They see it as a different movement. People do not accept the way people are doing art through pixo.

What are pixo aesthetics a reflection of?

In the beginning, the reference was metal and punk rock. But I don’t think people think about this anymore. They just want it to be aggressive.

Here, we get so many references from outside Brazil. Pixo breaks that; it confronts the system. For example, we have so much imported architecture here but you can recognize you are in Brazil because of the Pixo. It has a Brazilian mark.

Shot by Martha Cooper

What do you think about people writing Pixo outside of Brazil?

I really like how Pixo is going outside Brazil; it’s nice to see people taking reference from here. But always recognize where it’s from and pass the information along. Otherwise, it's just appropriation.

I’ve seen some artists outside Brazil with access to more technology, like drones and go-pros. They are putting themselves as the creator and saying everybody else is copying you. Sure, it’s copying if you are doing exactly the same lettering. But it’s a movement; that’s like saying someone doing throwups is a copycat. That’s not how it works.

Instagram must have helped the movement as well

You have some OGs saying the internet sucks and it’s true that while documenting is important, you can kill the spirit of a movement.

But we can’t deny that we live in the internet world. It’s opened up so many doors. We need to use the internet as a resistance tool, just as we do on the street. Otherwise, we only get the opinion of the mainstream media.

You said pixo is the maximum of space with the minimum of ink. Can you expand?

To get paint, it’s expensive. When you create something simple in just one colour, you create a more equal opportunity to get better for people who have less. It's more accessible than graffiti. We need to value simple stuff; not everything has to be super polished. That reflects society and how it works. I know some people don’t like the aesthetic but it’s not to please. It’s the opposite, actually.

What was your favourite mission outside of São Paulo?

My favourite was when we were climbing in Paris! We climbed 8 floors, helping each other. But we got caught by the police. It was so scary to be in a different place where you don’t understand the language.

A real cultural experience hahaha

The other was the Vitas building in Miami. It felt so special to be a female doing this alone and showing the locals how to use the ropes. It’s my intention to show other people outside Brazil that it's possible. Painting outside of Brazil makes me realize how many more girls paint here.

Photo by Wiseknave

How is the scene for women Pixadoras in São Paulo?

As women, we are already prepared to handle sexism. In Pixo, it’s not different with so many men. Many guys will try to paint with you with a second intention.

Even if you paint with someone who doesn’t want to do anything, some people will see it and think you’re fucking.

Also, I think here, when you are in the same movement, it’s nice to exchange information, but you always have guys who try and teach you how to do stuff.

Just by being a female Pixadora, you have so much judgement. People on the street will say, “Oh, you are a girl doing this shit, you know what can happen to you," and all this stuff. For me, that’s just a reason to do more.

Any girls you want to shout out?

Shout out to Lala, who taught me how to do the ropes, and to all the girls resisting on the street. I know how hard it is and sometimes you want to give up. But if you feel it in your heart and this is what you want to do and need to do, keep doing it and fuck what everybody says.

Eneri on the politics of Pixação: the graffiti resistance movement native to São Paulo