Russian artist Marat ‘Morik’ Danilyan is one of the international artists participating on this year’s Mural Social Club: Back to school! project curated by Julien Malland and Oleg Sosnov in Kiev, Ukraine.
Painted on one of the walls of 7th corps of Kiev Polytechnic Institute (KPI), the new mural depicts the image of academician Sergiy Korolyov, an Ukrainian scientist who worked as the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s. He is considered by many as the father of practical astronautics. He was also involved in the development of the R-7 Booster Rocket, Sputnik, and launching Laika and the first human being into space.
To begin with, the artist was appointed to paint a mural that could reflect the wish to develop new technologies, but he was soon to reject the idea based on the belief that in our modern times, new technologies quickly become obsolete, and where future rapidly becomes past. That’s why he decided to focus instead in important technological achievements from the past; from a wheel to the first Earth Satellite, diskettes, puncher cards and drawings representing not only the evolution, but also the transience of technological development.
“There are the first and the modern satellites on the mural, wheels and a lot of other important inventions of humanity. They are, as a kit, collected in a single unit – visualisation of development and growing up of technologies” – Morik
About the artist
Born in 1982 in Novosibirsk, Marat ‘Morik’ Danilyan is a street artist from Russia whose life has been dedicated to art since he was a kid and attended the local art school for children. Later in life he earned two bachelor’s degrees in philology and economics from the Novosibirsk State University, but decided to fully dedicated his life to art. It was in 1998, with the popularisation of the Internet in Russia, that Marat learned about the hip-hop culture and developed a passion for graffiti.
In his recent works Marat pays great attention to patterns and the experimentation with different techniques and materials on different surfaces. His versatile art comprises both figurative and abstract compositions, sometimes mixing abstraction and realism with expressionism and typographic elements. In 2011 he established the First Graffiti Agency (FGA) together with Andrey Aber.
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
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.
