Artists make themselves heard through large-scale murals

Описание: (6 Nov 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4064188

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In Kiev, artists are making themselves heard through colourful, large-scale murals.
It's been more than two years since deadly protests rocked the Ukrainian capital, and art is proving one way to comment on the ongoing social and political situation.

STORY-LINE:
Huge murals have been appearing on the streets of Kiev since deadly protests rocked the Ukrainian capital over two years ago.
This sprawling portrait of activist Serhiy Nigoyan, who was killed during protests in the capital's Maidan Square, was one of the first to appear in Kiev's historical district.
It's located on the wall of a house just a few hundred metres from where Nigoyan was killed.
It's through this that activists honour Nigoyan and - perhaps unbeknown to them - started a trend.
In Ukraine, artists aren't staying quiet and ignoring the ongoing social and political situation.
The unease is being reflected in these large-scale paintings.
Geo Leros is a curator from 'Art United Us' project, which has the ambitious aim of creating 200 murals across Ukraine and further abroad in the coming years.
"It's important to understand that the walls are a kind of weapon in some meaning because one thing is when a painting is exhibited in a small gallery with restricted, niche people looking at it and another thing is when it's located in a public space where thousands or tens of thousands people see the artwork. The aim of each painting is to induce emotions, which can be both positive or negative, but it exists. The artist shares his experiences and impressions, anyway each work has to induce emotions and can't be neutral."
he says.
The 'Art United Us' project includes hundreds of artists from various countries.
Miami-based painter Ernesto Maranje has already created three murals in Kiev through his work with the project.
His colourful murals often depict nature and are dedicated to values such as peace or love.
Ukrainian identity is one of the most popular topics among artists.
One of the biggest murals is this 40-metre long painting of a woman dressed in a traditional embroidered shirt. It's by Australian artist Guido van Helten.
It's located on the wall of an 18-floor residential building in Kiev's city centre.
Another mural with an ethnic message is 'Protectress' by Mata Ruda.
Grey and monotonous buildings in Kiev's residential areas - sometimes called 'Sleeping Districts' - have become canvases for large-scale murals.
But some aren't happy about the project.
Art critic Lizaveta German says sometimes murals can obscure, perhaps even "harm" existing architecture.
"The development of so-called muralism in Kiev and other cities is taking place too intensively," she says.
"There are too, too many murals and they appear in the places where it looks totally incongruous. They harm existing architecture".
The conflict between separatists and Ukrainian government forces has been raging since April 2014, killing more than 9,600 people.
A 2015 agreement has helped reduce the scale of fighting, but clashes have continued and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.


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