Spanish graffiti artist Suso 33 is a true phenomenon: he is the only graffiti artist on the planet who applies his motifs using both hands at the same time, in a process that unites painting and dance.

Suso 33 ranks among Spain’s most popular artists. In Barcelona, his works are on display in museums as well as in the street. His trademark is large, expressive faces which he paints on structures all over town. Wistfully, craftily, comically they peer outwards, rendering visible the stories and feelings of a building’s unseen inhabitants. For years on end Suso 33 sprayed concrete walls and trains, playing cat and mouse with the police after dark. But he has gone places since then. He realised that, in the 21st century, he can’t just adorn multistorey car parks and subway trains, but has to be active on the information superhighway as well – using YouTube videos and software tricks instead of aerosol cans. A good example is his project Scenic Painting in Action, a live performance in which he paints a canvas on stage while accompanied by breakdancers, beatbox singers and a DJ. The picture he creates ends up being just a small component of the overall artwork comprised of image, sound and action – a kind of "telegraffiti". His performances on www.suso33.com or YouTube are similarly spectacular: Suso 33 steps in front of a blank canvas and, using synchronised arm movements, starts painting the first lines. With individual, flowing movements he executes more and more circles and sine curves until, in a few short minutes, one of his trademark faces abruptly emerges. It is an amalgam of choreography and calligraphy in which the true work of art is the creative process itself. Like his British counterpart Banksy, whose works change hands for huge sums of money, Suso 33 has long since been accepted by the mainstream art world. But that doesn’t stop him from occasionally setting off on a night-time spraying spree – both hands at the ready.