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A Street Art Skate Park Fills a Former Spanish Church

The Okuda San Miguel-painted Kaos Temple is like Rainbow Road meets Tony Hawk meets 'Adventure Time.'
Photo by Elchino Pomares

A church in Asturias, Spain that was converted into a skate park just got a stunning new coat of paint thanks to Madrid-based street artist Okuda San Miguel. Known for his stunning geometric vistas, San Miguel needed to paint the Church of Santa Barbera, a.k.a., the Kaos Temple, the moment he saw it on the internet. "[The church] with a skate park is an amazing image. I fell in love with the place, because both concepts were so right together," he tells The Creators Project.

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The skate park's hallowed setting is heaven for holy rollers and blasphemers alike, but San Miguel's work brings it to a whole new dimension. It was originally converted from hundred-year-old place of worship to public half pipe thanks to a crowdfunding campaign on Verkami that got picked up by Red Bull. They invited him to paint the space before they opened it to the public on December 10, and Danny Leon broke in the newly rainbow-fied house of shred.

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Drawing on influences from Hieronymous "THE BOSH" Bosch, Max Ernst, René Magrite, Salvador Dalí, Takashi Murakami, and Yayoi Kusama, plus Indian, Mexican, and African folk art, San Miguel considers the Iglesia Skate to be his most important work to date. He brought his 100 to the holy ground. "When I do artwork like this, the heart only can transmit good vibes to the public. The icon of the Kaos Temple is three positive symbols: +++."

For those that think building a skate could be seen as sacriligeous, worry not. "The funny thing is that some old guys, who used to be real altar boys at this church were there," San Miguel recounts. "Their opinions about the temple's new life was amazing and totally positive."

Check out pictures of San Miguel and his team painting nearly every surface of the century-old building in the images below.

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Photo by Elchino Pomares

Click here to learn more about Okuda San Miguel.

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