I knew about most of the Mural Fest artworks before coming to Ferizaj, so I wasn't that interested in painting another character/figure. Seeing the murals from previous years in person, particularly the ones in the center of the town, pushed me to go in a different direction esthetically and in terms of narrative.
I believe it's easy to be "seduced" by some darker themes, and visually it can be much more fun to paint something moody and dramatic ( I admittedly lean more to that side). Still, the wall in the center of the town needed to go against that ( and I needed to go a bit against myself) and create a contrast to the war-themed artworks that were painted in previous years.
My idea was to paint something that at first looked more like decorative art, but I also needed to put some storytelling or a metaphor behind the work:
The Balkans have traditionally been an area of turmoil and political instability, thus the nickname "Powder keg."
Religion, particularly the divide between Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, and Catholicism, has played a significant role in that instability. This tendency of individuals to associate themselves strongly with a particular group or tribe based on shared religious or ideological beliefs makes them view opposing ideologies as a threat. That leads to hostility, the rejection of alternative viewpoints, and a lack of constructive dialogue. I kind of tackled this theme previously with the pothead characters.
By painting a still life in falling motion as a continuous pattern, with slight differences in details, I wanted to address both the beauty and instability and convey the idea of being more similar than different.
This idea is a good starting point for a more utopian place which was the theme of this year's edition."
Curated by @douggillen
Photographer Dren Osmani & @Sovran Nrecaj
I managed to film a lot during this project, so I may do a longer video/vlog this time with narration. As always, only some things go as planned or smoothly at this type of festivals.
I couldn't realize the piece as I had hoped because of a few problems with the wall, and the rain also didn't help. In this chaos, I started liking the unfinished look more and more and felt comfortable leaving it as it was.
In the future, I might do a few more still-life compositions just to try something different and see where it takes me.
