Kaleidoscopic Chaos: The Graphic Art of Bicicleta sem Freio

Next we turn Sci-Fi-O-Rama up to eleven and present a retina-searing selection of art from Brazilian graphic and street art duo Douglas de Castro and Renato Reno, better known as Bicicleta sem Freio.

‘Bicicleta sem Freio’ is Portuguese for “bicycle without brakes” and it’s an apt moniker for a style that jams the visual cortex with a chaotic barrage of psychedelic illustration and design. Beautiful girls, 80s dogtooth patterns and disassembled bodies are woven through hard geometric shapes and rendered in a highly saturated palette, carefully chosen for maximum punch and underscored with a quirky sense of humour.

As you can see above, scale proves no obstacle to Bicicleta sem Freio! They’re equally adept at working at street level or from scaffolding or cherry picker.

You may be asking yourself “So how do these mammoth projects take shape?” Well as with any design or illustration, Bicicleta sem Freio starts first with a concept sketch, as below. Next the sketch is scanned and tidied to a more “graphic” state before moving on to tweaking for composition and colour testing.

It’s the final part of the process that I find mind-boggling; the translation of graphics to wall or building; truly impressive craftsmanship.

Unsurprisingly as with all work of this calibre, the duo have an impressive client list with commissions for Nike, Sony, Levi’s and MTV to name only a handful.

For work of this sheer magnitude and scope one might imagine a long and complicated process. Perhaps it is, but it doesn’t slow Bicicleta sem Freio down judging by their prolific output! This post barely scratches the surface of their extensive back catalouge.

Read more about Bicicleta sem Freio over at bicicletasemfreio.com, or follow them via Facebook and Instagram.