Tel-Aviv based artist Klone is now in Kiev, Ukraine where he just finished this lovely mural for the Mural Social Club: Back to school! project that has already hosted French artist and co-curator of the festival Julien Malland aka Seth and Portuguese artist Pantonio.
Titled “We are in it together”, the new mural is a classic example of Klone’s magic imagery and is based on a Ukrainian folktale where, like in most folktales, there is a good side and bad side. Folktales are stories that are passed from generation to generation, usually teach a moral lesson, and are built around the concept of repetition.
Having this in mind, Klone decided to paint the story in an “endless” loop which, read from right to left – the direction in which the fox and the rooster move – , shows the image of a red rooster following a fox that follows the same rooster that follows him. Got the idea? Painted over two square walls the story continues itself on both sides.
“While I prefer not to define the good and the bad side just by the outside looks and common definitions, most of the world does. We decide who’s bad just because of certain characteristic that the society and ages long cultures write into our “common” sense understanding.
On a more personal note, the character of the fox have been following me for big part of my life and definitely for all my mature and creative life as an artist. It changed shapes and postures, and always felt like something that initially came with me from my Ukrainian childhood. This mural was a great opportunity to return this fox to where he came from. As a token and hopefully an amulet for his place that I hope finds peace and growth.” – KLONE
The mural was made possible thanks to the initiative of the Shevchenkivsky district administration and the support of Israel’s Embassy in Ukraine. Lovely piece, isn’t it?
About the artist
Klone, b. 1983 in Harkov, Ukraine, Klone currently lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Influenced by his childhood emigration from the Ukraine to Israel, Klone’s initial practice of tagging and graffiti were personal challenges to themes of diaspora. This urban tradition allowed him to take ownership of his surrounding and localize an often hostile and alienating environment, making his foreign settings, more familiar.
As his works expanded to exhibitions and murals throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, Klone began to integrate more complex traditions of art history and aimed to reach a broader political treatise by moving the intention of his work outside of himself and towards others and their relationships with—and concept of “home.”
Using characters, symbols, and regional iconography Klone’s work borrows from existing linguistic traditions in hope of providing a bridge to communicate. This organic approach appeals in its attempt at universality without erasure, without requiring a blank slate mentality. Each installation and drawing, attempts to create an environment that will connect with the observers primal feeling, placing him or her as part of the setting and context of the work. As well, Klone’s works, whether created inside the studio or in in the public sphere, speaks to the exploration of what combinations are available to us with and also outside of a given discourse of belonging.
About the project
Mural Social Club is an International Festival of Contemporary Art in the public space with the mission to make art accessible for everybody. By supporting social and cultural initiatives of residents of different cities they aim to promote a decentralisation of the urban culture of the country through the creation of artworks on the outskirts of the capital, as well as in smaller towns.
This year’s festival has been curated by French street artist and activist Julien Malland aka Seth Globepainter, who along with Oleg Sosnov, managed to curate an exciting line-up including top street art names from Italy, Spain, USA, Ukraine, Portugal, France, Russia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, all of whom are coming to Ukraine to decorate the cities with their artwork. Apart from murals and installations, Mural Social Club Festival also sees a number of indoor exhibitions, as well as an extensive educational program featuring workshops and seminars by renowned street artists.
The festival is organised and initiated by NGO Sky Art Foundation. More info on: skyartfound.com
More about Klone website | facebook | instagram | urbanite
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
