Our route starts at Zoloti Vorota. You will be able to get introduced with 15 murals and the stories of their creation, reading about the life and work of the artists who created them. Ready? Let’s go!
The mural is created by Ukrainian artist Alexander Britsev during the City Art project in 2015.
At first sight, a deep meaning of the painting may be deprived by the simplicity of its design. The artist refers to the symbolic character of a raven and he deliberately simplifies the image. And that is why the image is so impressive. The artist chooses a white and beautiful raven as the central piece of the image, and the main symbol of the ‘messenger’. What does the craw-messenger foretell? Life?!
Its inception or termination? ‘My painting is called ‘Messenger of life’. The white raven is a symbol of the good news and new life creation. The black ravens are around it, they are considered to be among the wisest birds on the planet. We know so little about them, and every time we are surprised by their mind and intelligence» — the artist comments on his creation. The location of the mural is no accident. It is located in one of the hidden yards of Kiev, where the large cage with the huge craws is placed. Without doubt, every citizen of Kiev came to see this yard at least once. ‘How did this idea come to you and how was it brought to life? First I drew it in my notepad. The other day I was watching craws walking on the white snow. And I remember thinking if albinos exist among the craws? I researched on the subject and found out that white craws are rare, but they do exist.
There is a lot information about what ‘a craw’ symbolizes, the variety of the interpretations and meanings of the symbol. Scandinavians associate them with birds-scavengers and forest cleaner, in Greek mythology — a craw is a porter to the afterlife world. For Slavs a craw is a wise bird. I was fascinated. And I was thinking: If black raven brings news about the death, than white raven brings news about the life. Regardless and for the joy of everybody. By a good fortune, there is a yard in Kiev which someone keeps a cage with these wise birds. And the wall near that yard was just waiting for its time. Grebenyuk Sasha referred my work for this wall. We got in touched, and ever since the artwork lives on the wall and brings the good news about life to all’.
The mural is created by Ukrainian artist Alexander Britsev during the City Art project in 2015.
At first sight, a deep meaning of the painting may be deprived by the simplicity of its design. The artist refers to the symbolic character of a raven and he deliberately simplifies the image. And that is why the image is so impressive. The artist chooses a white and beautiful raven as the central piece of the image, and the main symbol of the ‘messenger’. What does the craw-messenger foretell? Life?!
Its inception or termination? ‘My painting is called ‘Messenger of life’. The white raven is a symbol of the good news and new life creation. The black ravens are around it, they are considered to be among the wisest birds on the planet. We know so little about them, and every time we are surprised by their mind and intelligence» — the artist comments on his creation. The location of the mural is no accident. It is located in one of the hidden yards of Kiev, where the large cage with the huge craws is placed. Without doubt, every citizen of Kiev came to see this yard at least once. ‘How did this idea come to you and how was it brought to life? First I drew it in my notepad. The other day I was watching craws walking on the white snow. And I remember thinking if albinos exist among the craws? I researched on the subject and found out that white craws are rare, but they do exist.
There is a lot information about what ‘a craw’ symbolizes, the variety of the interpretations and meanings of the symbol. Scandinavians associate them with birds-scavengers and forest cleaner, in Greek mythology — a craw is a porter to the afterlife world. For Slavs a craw is a wise bird. I was fascinated. And I was thinking: If black raven brings news about the death, than white raven brings news about the life. Regardless and for the joy of everybody. By a good fortune, there is a yard in Kiev which someone keeps a cage with these wise birds. And the wall near that yard was just waiting for its time. Grebenyuk Sasha referred my work for this wall. We got in touched, and ever since the artwork lives on the wall and brings the good news about life to all’.
The mural is created by Australian artist Guido Van Helten during the City Art project in 2015.
Guido Van Helten is known for his amazing realistic and massive artworks, which from a distance look more like photos than paintings. The artist works in the portrait genre. This mural is not his first, and apparently, not the last artwork of the artist in Kiev and Ukraine.
Before creating 7-store mural the artist discovered a poem ‘Lily-of-the-valley’ by Lesya Ukrainka. According to the artist, the verses impressed him so much that he decided to paint a young woman (or an image of Lesya Ukrainka herself?), who gazed into the horizon, and on the below line of the painting she was embraced by flowers, ‘lilies-of the-valley’. Perhaps, with this painting he attempts to change the ending of the poem?!
The mural is created by Australian artist Guido Van Helten during the City Art project in 2015.
Guido Van Helten is known for his amazing realistic and massive artworks, which from a distance look more like photos than paintings. The artist works in the portrait genre. This mural is not his first, and apparently, not the last artwork of the artist in Kiev and Ukraine.
Before creating 7-store mural the artist discovered a poem ‘Lily-of-the-valley’ by Lesya Ukrainka. According to the artist, the verses impressed him so much that he decided to paint a young woman (or an image of Lesya Ukrainka herself?), who gazed into the horizon, and on the below line of the painting she was embraced by flowers, ‘lilies-of the-valley’. Perhaps, with this painting he attempts to change the ending of the poem?!
The mural is created by Marius Varas M-city, Polish artist, during the City Art project in 2015.
Before painting ‘Merry-go-round’ Marius Varas was already famous as a street-art artist, drawing artist and a project designer. He was born in Gdansk where he created many of his artworks. Among some of his most famous works are: the painting in Stadion Energa Gdansk (Poland) 2015, the painting of the tower in Stavanger (Norway), painting of the passenger ship ‘Mazovia’ Szczecin (Poland), and also not very typical work for the graffiti artists — painting of the race car of Kimi Raikkonen, Finnish racing driver and the world champion of Formula One, also known as Iceman and King of Spa. Using monochromic colors is peculiar for Marius Varas style.
The artist usually uses industrial-mechanical motives and ‘Merry-goes-round’ is one of them: the mechanical merry-go-round made of the cars.
The mural is created by Marius Varas M-city, Polish artist, during the City Art project in 2015.
Before painting ‘Merry-go-round’ Marius Varas was already famous as a street-art artist, drawing artist and a project designer. He was born in Gdansk where he created many of his artworks. Among some of his most famous works are: the painting in Stadion Energa Gdansk (Poland) 2015, the painting of the tower in Stavanger (Norway), painting of the passenger ship ‘Mazovia’ Szczecin (Poland), and also not very typical work for the graffiti artists — painting of the race car of Kimi Raikkonen, Finnish racing driver and the world champion of Formula One, also known as Iceman and King of Spa. Using monochromic colors is peculiar for Marius Varas style.
The artist usually uses industrial-mechanical motives and ‘Merry-goes-round’ is one of them: the mechanical merry-go-round made of the cars.
The mural is created by Ukrainian artist Taras Arm during the City Art project in 2015.
That is how Taras comments his artwork: ‘The organizers of the project asked me to express my own view of the leadership concept. That is why I decided to depict a flock of the birds following their leader during the long-distance flight. The mural colors are not accidental; I wanted to combine the painting with the sky color’. Taras was born in Ternopil, now he lives in Lviv. It was in 2001 when he touched a spray painting for the first time. It was a journey for him, from vandalism to mural art.
And from 2014 he fully devoted himself to the street art. He is a team member of KICKIT group, which was created for development and spreading of hip-hop culture (the official date is September 13, 2009). Every member started as an individual independent artist, though each was interested to spread the hip-hop culture in Ukraine. KICKIT brought them together. Now it is a group of people: ceremony masters, DJs, beat-makers, artists and photographs from all over Ukraine. ‘Creating our own history of hip-hop, keeping international traditions, we work for keeping love, peace, unity and having a good time’.
The mural is created by Ukrainian artist Taras Arm during the City Art project in 2015.
That is how Taras comments his artwork: ‘The organizers of the project asked me to express my own view of the leadership concept. That is why I decided to depict a flock of the birds following their leader during the long-distance flight. The mural colors are not accidental; I wanted to combine the painting with the sky color’. Taras was born in Ternopil, now he lives in Lviv. It was in 2001 when he touched a spray painting for the first time. It was a journey for him, from vandalism to mural art.
And from 2014 he fully devoted himself to the street art. He is a team member of KICKIT group, which was created for development and spreading of hip-hop culture (the official date is September 13, 2009). Every member started as an individual independent artist, though each was interested to spread the hip-hop culture in Ukraine. KICKIT brought them together. Now it is a group of people: ceremony masters, DJs, beat-makers, artists and photographs from all over Ukraine. ‘Creating our own history of hip-hop, keeping international traditions, we work for keeping love, peace, unity and having a good time’.
The mural is created by Fintan Magee during the City Art project in 2015.
It is the second artwork of the Australian artist in Kiev. Here he depicted a Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast woman Anna Rizatdinova, who was born in Simpheropil, Crimea. She is only 22 years old (by 2016) she is the World and Europe medalist. In 2015 only she won a gold medal in ribbon during the 2015 Budapest World Cup, a silver one in clubs. In 2015 Sophia World Cup she won bronze in ribbon, clubs, hoop, ball and in all-around. In 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart she won bronze in hoop, clubs, ribbons and team. During the Olympics in Rio Anna took a bronze medal in the individual all-round. Incredible results!
Fintan Magee depicted Anna in the moment of performing a flip.
The artist commented: ‘Any woman can achieve everything she dreams about’.
The mural is created by Fintan Magee during the City Art project in 2015.
It is the second artwork of the Australian artist in Kiev. Here he depicted a Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast woman Anna Rizatdinova, who was born in Simpheropil, Crimea. She is only 22 years old (by 2016) she is the World and Europe medalist. In 2015 only she won a gold medal in ribbon during the 2015 Budapest World Cup, a silver one in clubs. In 2015 Sophia World Cup she won bronze in ribbon, clubs, hoop, ball and in all-around. In 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart she won bronze in hoop, clubs, ribbons and team. During the Olympics in Rio Anna took a bronze medal in the individual all-round. Incredible results!
Fintan Magee depicted Anna in the moment of performing a flip.
The artist commented: ‘Any woman can achieve everything she dreams about’.
This is not an exactly a mural. The wall of the residential house is covered by a mosaic.
A sweet carefree faces look at us. This artwork is created by Konstantin Skritutsky (Ukraine) during ‘Kyiv landscape initiative’ project.
The artist’s name is associated with Peizazhna Alley, as he was an activist of creating its unique and unforgettable image, which locals and guests love so much. Konstantin is a creator of so-called statues-partisans. Turning from ‘Gymnastics’ to mosaics ‘Children’ one can see a ‘Ballerina’. What is so unique about this artwork? The sculptor was curving it from the tree just on the spot. And in the same time he did his level best to make it difficult for the vandals. How? This sculpture has very few sticking out pieces which can be broken off. By the way, when the artist describes his works, he calls them landscape objects rather than sculptures.
This is not an exactly a mural. The wall of the residential house is covered by a mosaic.
A sweet carefree faces look at us. This artwork is created by Konstantin Skritutsky (Ukraine) during ‘Kyiv landscape initiative’ project.
The artist’s name is associated with Peizazhna Alley, as he was an activist of creating its unique and unforgettable image, which locals and guests love so much. Konstantin is a creator of so-called statues-partisans. Turning from ‘Gymnastics’ to mosaics ‘Children’ one can see a ‘Ballerina’. What is so unique about this artwork? The sculptor was curving it from the tree just on the spot. And in the same time he did his level best to make it difficult for the vandals. How? This sculpture has very few sticking out pieces which can be broken off. By the way, when the artist describes his works, he calls them landscape objects rather than sculptures.
The authors of the graffiti are Elena Staranchuk, Illia Ugvienko and Oleg Grishchenko. In November 2014 Kiev artists created another interesting object in Strilets’ka street – they decorated the arch which leads to a cozy green back yard. The coloristic and the concept of the graffiti are very cohesive with the location itself. Geometry, abstraction and a mystic story – these are the secrets the arch is keeping…
Oleg Gryshchenko: ‘The author of the work is Elena Staranchuk, Illia and me, we were assistants. The composition is dedicated to Kiev urbanism of the city of Yaroslav. The historical motives are interpreted with the language of graphic stylistics in the work. Plus, constructivism. In general, the most of our works are created as the books illustrations for some publications. So one can say that the book graphic crawled to the wall here. Though to our mind street-art is very close to illustrations in terms of stylistics and very often the motives travel from one media to another’.
The authors of the graffiti are Elena Staranchuk, Illia Ugvienko and Oleg Grishchenko. In November 2014 Kiev artists created another interesting object in Strilets’ka street – they decorated the arch which leads to a cozy green back yard. The coloristic and the concept of the graffiti are very cohesive with the location itself. Geometry, abstraction and a mystic story – these are the secrets the arch is keeping…
Oleg Gryshchenko: ‘The author of the work is Elena Staranchuk, Illia and me, we were assistants. The composition is dedicated to Kiev urbanism of the city of Yaroslav. The historical motives are interpreted with the language of graphic stylistics in the work. Plus, constructivism. In general, the most of our works are created as the books illustrations for some publications. So one can say that the book graphic crawled to the wall here. Though to our mind street-art is very close to illustrations in terms of stylistics and very often the motives travel from one media to another’.
‘Time for change’ mural is created by Volodymyr Manzhos (aka WaOne), at the time he was known as a part of an artist duo ‘Interesni kazky’. WaOne created it during the ‘Art United Us’ project. Observing this large incredibly detailed mural one can’t help noticing the 6-armed Cossack (is it a reference to Siva?) in the below left. Then one’s eyes follow the snake (again very allegorical reference, don’t you think?) winding around the Earth (one don’t have to be an expert on physiognomy to notice that the snake resembles Putin. Can you tell?). On the background one can see a marching monkey with a grenade and a poster saying ‘To Kiev’ (again, is it a reference to the recent events?). When glance glides further, one can see tires on fire (do you remember the events on Maidan?). What does the author describe? Is it an allegory of the fight between evil and good? Light vs darkness?
150 square meters, full of symbolism and mythology. We are certain that everyone can find something for himself. Do you see the entrance tower of the Lutsk castle? Take a look and compare with 200 hryvnia banknote. The only difference, that author changes the direction of the stork (now it returns instead of leaving)…
‘Time for change’ mural is created by Volodymyr Manzhos (aka WaOne), at the time he was known as a part of an artist duo ‘Interesni kazky’. WaOne created it during the ‘Art United Us’ project. Observing this large incredibly detailed mural one can’t help noticing the 6-armed Cossack (is it a reference to Siva?) in the below left. Then one’s eyes follow the snake (again very allegorical reference, don’t you think?) winding around the Earth (one don’t have to be an expert on physiognomy to notice that the snake resembles Putin. Can you tell?). On the background one can see a marching monkey with a grenade and a poster saying ‘To Kiev’ (again, is it a reference to the recent events?). When glance glides further, one can see tires on fire (do you remember the events on Maidan?). What does the author describe? Is it an allegory of the fight between evil and good? Light vs darkness?
150 square meters, full of symbolism and mythology. We are certain that everyone can find something for himself. Do you see the entrance tower of the Lutsk castle? Take a look and compare with 200 hryvnia banknote. The only difference, that author changes the direction of the stork (now it returns instead of leaving)…
The 300 square meters panel is created by already known to us artist Kostiantyn Skrytutsky during ‘Andreevsko-Peizazhna initiatives’, ‘Four queens’ and ‘Kiev, Strategy 2025’.
This panel as a protective amulet is situated on the residential house wall and it was a gift to the city on the auspicious St. Nicolas Day. The girl, wearing a flower crown and traditional Ukrainian dress, is painted on the wall and it represents the image of Ukraine. Below, one can see children drawing something. Someone said, that Left Bank of Kiev looks like a female profile from a space. That is exactly what kids are drawing on this mosaic panel, as a calling to be kind to their own city and to love it. There are 2 psalms and 10 commandments are written on the left and right side of the painting, hidden in QR codes.
The idea of the panel belongs to public association ‘Kiev landscape initiative’ and its president Volodymyr Kolynko.
The 300 square meters panel is created by already known to us artist Kostiantyn Skrytutsky during ‘Andreevsko-Peizazhna initiatives’, ‘Four queens’ and ‘Kiev, Strategy 2025’.
This panel as a protective amulet is situated on the residential house wall and it was a gift to the city on the auspicious St. Nicolas Day. The girl, wearing a flower crown and traditional Ukrainian dress, is painted on the wall and it represents the image of Ukraine. Below, one can see children drawing something. Someone said, that Left Bank of Kiev looks like a female profile from a space. That is exactly what kids are drawing on this mosaic panel, as a calling to be kind to their own city and to love it. There are 2 psalms and 10 commandments are written on the left and right side of the painting, hidden in QR codes.
The idea of the panel belongs to public association ‘Kiev landscape initiative’ and its president Volodymyr Kolynko.
The mural is created by Volodymyr Manzhos (WaOne) and Oleksii Bordusov (AES) in 2014, art duo ‘Interesni kazky’ then.
The artists rarely comment their artworks.
They prefer multi-layer experience a viewer can get when observes an artwork. Why St. George? Why portrayed like this? Is it because he is a protector? A snake fighter? Or is it because the mural location is near the building number 32, which the locals call ‘the house with snakes’?
Apparently, each of the viewers will have a different version…St. George is a saint, a martyr, a soldier, a patron saint of Byzantine Emperors, and later Ukrainian kings. St. George is one of the most famous patrons in Christian world. He, without a hint of doubt, abdicated the fame and the material world and became a protector of his father’s faith – Christianity.
The mural is created by Volodymyr Manzhos (WaOne) and Oleksii Bordusov (AES) in 2014, art duo ‘Interesni kazky’ then.
The artists rarely comment their artworks.
They prefer multi-layer experience a viewer can get when observes an artwork. Why St. George? Why portrayed like this? Is it because he is a protector? A snake fighter? Or is it because the mural location is near the building number 32, which the locals call ‘the house with snakes’?
Apparently, each of the viewers will have a different version…St. George is a saint, a martyr, a soldier, a patron saint of Byzantine Emperors, and later Ukrainian kings. St. George is one of the most famous patrons in Christian world. He, without a hint of doubt, abdicated the fame and the material world and became a protector of his father’s faith – Christianity.
Inspired by pictures and sculptures of the Renaissance, a Ukrainian artist Oleksii Pryimak (aka O’Prime) created this impressive mural.
The painting is located on the wall size 16×3,5 meters. The author wanted to share his thoughts with the viewers, that is why next to the painting he left two signs, where he talks about the ‘eternity’ of the street artists works as well as about the concept of this mural. For many really interesting street artworks (graffiti, street-art) the artists mainly choose deserted places (‘as if meant especially for graffiti places’), not available to a common man. Graffiti is usually painted in some remote places of parks or near railways. They are mostly seen by the author and his ‘colleagues’. And eventually the artworks get forgotten and lost. ‘Not understanding how to step up in my career, I left the art for a while’ — Oleksii writes. Author talks about the legitimacy of the street-art: ‘There are artists, but there are no walls’. ‘Wall soul/Free soul’ is a question of absence of a wall and freedom (it is a word game: a ‘wall’ is a root of a Ukrainian word ‘liberty’).
In other words, ‘the soul, which belongs to the wall’ is an ‘issue of ‘without wall’ — ‘without freedom’. The storyline of the painting is the best to be observed from the left to the right: each character has its own role to play. On the left there are ‘the angels and Gods’ who symbolize ‘the beginners and the professional artists’. Some are just thinking about the ideas; some are already starting their paintings… Since this ‘practice’ is not allowed, many ‘beginners’ are scared. On the right there is a confrontation of the independent artist-creator and the ‘power’ (‘power’ — is a person, who has more influence and strength, and behind whom there is a hidden answer.) The artist who didn’t get an opportunity to realize his potential, he loses his ‘wings’.
Why to limit something, which might positively grow into the art?’.
Inspired by pictures and sculptures of the Renaissance, a Ukrainian artist Oleksii Pryimak (aka O’Prime) created this impressive mural.
The painting is located on the wall size 16×3,5 meters. The author wanted to share his thoughts with the viewers, that is why next to the painting he left two signs, where he talks about the ‘eternity’ of the street artists works as well as about the concept of this mural. For many really interesting street artworks (graffiti, street-art) the artists mainly choose deserted places (‘as if meant especially for graffiti places’), not available to a common man. Graffiti is usually painted in some remote places of parks or near railways. They are mostly seen by the author and his ‘colleagues’. And eventually the artworks get forgotten and lost. ‘Not understanding how to step up in my career, I left the art for a while’ — Oleksii writes. Author talks about the legitimacy of the street-art: ‘There are artists, but there are no walls’. ‘Wall soul/Free soul’ is a question of absence of a wall and freedom (it is a word game: a ‘wall’ is a root of a Ukrainian word ‘liberty’).
In other words, ‘the soul, which belongs to the wall’ is an ‘issue of ‘without wall’ — ‘without freedom’. The storyline of the painting is the best to be observed from the left to the right: each character has its own role to play. On the left there are ‘the angels and Gods’ who symbolize ‘the beginners and the professional artists’. Some are just thinking about the ideas; some are already starting their paintings… Since this ‘practice’ is not allowed, many ‘beginners’ are scared. On the right there is a confrontation of the independent artist-creator and the ‘power’ (‘power’ — is a person, who has more influence and strength, and behind whom there is a hidden answer.) The artist who didn’t get an opportunity to realize his potential, he loses his ‘wings’.
Why to limit something, which might positively grow into the art?’.
The mural is created by Franco Fasoli (Italy) and Agus Zaballa (Argentina) during the City Art project in 2015.
The work was surrounded by several scandals. First, the mural was started in the historical part of the city. Secondly, it wasn’t agreed with the locals. Thirdly, by the documents, this wall should have been covered with mosaics depicting an image of Desiatynna Church, from an old postcard found in the archives. The number of times, the architect Kostiantyn Skrytutsky and representatives of the public association ‘Kyiv. Strategy 2025’ came to the location, bringing the signed documents and plans. They tried to stop the work of the mural creation, they called the police – all in vein.
The artists kept working, as they had the authorization from Shevchenko District Administration. According to the project organizers, the mural was created based on Argentinean mythology. There is another opinion, that the artist Agus Zaballa, being a football fan and very close to Argentinean ultras, being impressed by the recent Ukrainian events, compiled humans and animals in the painting (Argentinean ultras wear animal masks for a football game or for a fight after it). The central figure is a human body with an eagle head holding the Ukrainian flag in his hand. The figure on the below left seems to wear a balaclava and gets ready to fight. This painting is breathing the fight.
The mural is created by Franco Fasoli (Italy) and Agus Zaballa (Argentina) during the City Art project in 2015.
The work was surrounded by several scandals. First, the mural was started in the historical part of the city. Secondly, it wasn’t agreed with the locals. Thirdly, by the documents, this wall should have been covered with mosaics depicting an image of Desiatynna Church, from an old postcard found in the archives. The number of times, the architect Kostiantyn Skrytutsky and representatives of the public association ‘Kyiv. Strategy 2025’ came to the location, bringing the signed documents and plans. They tried to stop the work of the mural creation, they called the police – all in vein.
The artists kept working, as they had the authorization from Shevchenko District Administration. According to the project organizers, the mural was created based on Argentinean mythology. There is another opinion, that the artist Agus Zaballa, being a football fan and very close to Argentinean ultras, being impressed by the recent Ukrainian events, compiled humans and animals in the painting (Argentinean ultras wear animal masks for a football game or for a fight after it). The central figure is a human body with an eagle head holding the Ukrainian flag in his hand. The figure on the below left seems to wear a balaclava and gets ready to fight. This painting is breathing the fight.
The mural was created by Aryz (Spain) during the City Art project in 2015.
The Spanish artist depicted a person, who bravely and proudly holds something like a flag, but a viewer can’t see the color, only the flagpole. It is known, that when mural was created, there was an unpleasant incident, or a few, to be precise.
The artist stepped down to see the painting from the distance, a nun was passing by, she attacked the artist and the bucket with the pain was knocked down. The very next day the same situation happened, but the artist expected it. When the nun came to buckets with the painting, the artist splashed cold water over her from above, where he stood then. Threatening him, she left. Though it wasn’t over. The next day, there was another visit (from who you think that was?) from a priest. He apologized for what happened and even suggested to cover the damage.
The mural was created by Aryz (Spain) during the City Art project in 2015.
The Spanish artist depicted a person, who bravely and proudly holds something like a flag, but a viewer can’t see the color, only the flagpole. It is known, that when mural was created, there was an unpleasant incident, or a few, to be precise.
The artist stepped down to see the painting from the distance, a nun was passing by, she attacked the artist and the bucket with the pain was knocked down. The very next day the same situation happened, but the artist expected it. When the nun came to buckets with the painting, the artist splashed cold water over her from above, where he stood then. Threatening him, she left. Though it wasn’t over. The next day, there was another visit (from who you think that was?) from a priest. He apologized for what happened and even suggested to cover the damage.
Mural was created by Alexandre Farto aka Vhils (Portugal) in 2014. Oddly enough, this artwork is some sort of an exception, as it appeared on the wall of Heavenly Hundred Square not within some project, but independently and by activists initiative.
The artist was chosen not by a chance. Farto followed the news from Euromaidan and was very moved and supportive. When he was invited to create a mural in Kiev and to immortalize one of the Heavenly Hundred heroes, he agreed to do it for free. Activists collected all money needed for the materials. This small amount was found fast, as there are a lot of concerned citizens, including students of nearby Novopecherska school.
Nowadays, the team of Alexandre Farto creates the movie about Kiev, the events on Maidan and about the mural. The style of his work is unique, the artist doesn’t paint, he curves the picture. First, the surface is pre-primed, than it is plastered, and then the surface is curved and scratched using an electric drill and a hole puncher.
Mural was created by Alexandre Farto aka Vhils (Portugal) in 2014. Oddly enough, this artwork is some sort of an exception, as it appeared on the wall of Heavenly Hundred Square not within some project, but independently and by activists initiative.
The artist was chosen not by a chance. Farto followed the news from Euromaidan and was very moved and supportive. When he was invited to create a mural in Kiev and to immortalize one of the Heavenly Hundred heroes, he agreed to do it for free. Activists collected all money needed for the materials. This small amount was found fast, as there are a lot of concerned citizens, including students of nearby Novopecherska school.
Nowadays, the team of Alexandre Farto creates the movie about Kiev, the events on Maidan and about the mural. The style of his work is unique, the artist doesn’t paint, he curves the picture. First, the surface is pre-primed, than it is plastered, and then the surface is curved and scratched using an electric drill and a hole puncher.
Protectress» was created during the ‘Art Uninted Us’ project. The creator is Mata Ruda, the artists from Costa-Rica.
‘It is a healing representation of Berehynia, a female spirit of Slavic Mythology, — the author says, — which recently came to be regarded as a ‘Slavic goddess’, the ‘hearth-mother’. Mata Ruda chose an immigrant from Azerbaijan to be a ‘face’ of the mural. She looks down and her head is covered by ‘traditional Ukrainian’ shawl with floral ornaments. She is surrounded by sunflowers, symbol of the Sun, synonyms of a warmth and peace.
Maybe that is why this mural is allocated in such a significant place for Ukrainian people, near Independence Square (Maidan), where the revolution took its place in 2014.
Protectress» was created during the ‘Art Uninted Us’ project. The creator is Mata Ruda, the artists from Costa-Rica.
‘It is a healing representation of Berehynia, a female spirit of Slavic Mythology, — the author says, — which recently came to be regarded as a ‘Slavic goddess’, the ‘hearth-mother’. Mata Ruda chose an immigrant from Azerbaijan to be a ‘face’ of the mural. She looks down and her head is covered by ‘traditional Ukrainian’ shawl with floral ornaments. She is surrounded by sunflowers, symbol of the Sun, synonyms of a warmth and peace.
Maybe that is why this mural is allocated in such a significant place for Ukrainian people, near Independence Square (Maidan), where the revolution took its place in 2014.