665 Zaporozhye, Ukraine
Group of street artists from Zaporozhye
Lyosha pr ef ers cosm ic t h em es – a technocra ti c f u tu r e , a n d s o o n . F o r m e, everythi ng i s mor e l ifel ik e. S o m e o f m y favou r i te su bj ects a r e t h e h o m el es s , t he drunks, the ma rgin a l ized. S in ce ch il dh o o d, s ince my a dolescen ce, s in ce m y yo ut h , I h a ve a lwa ys wa nted socia l j us t ice. F o r w h o m do we ma ke street a r t, f i rs t a n d fo r em o s t ? F o r t h o s e who spend most of t h eir t im e a ct ua l l y on the str eet. So i t h a s a l w a y s s eem ed l o gica l t o pa i nt f or them a nd t o br in g t h o s e im a ge s t o li f e.
The group’s members started painting together in 2007, but it was only three years later that 665 fully took shape as an artistic collective. Many work illegally, leaving their artistic statements anywhere they happen to be. Occasionally, up to five unaffiliated artists join the group, often friends and colleagues from Zaporozhye and other Ukrainian cities. Most team members have higher degrees in technical subjects or the humanities, and some are even schoolteachers. For 665, the comic-book style has proved capable of expressing clear, profound ideas that focus attention on the crisis of consumer culture. Sometimes, their works are accompanied by brief comments, for example, “your fears here” on a rubbish bin, or “shame again” under an advertisement for a “wife for an hour.” 665 works in various genres, including stencils, paper posters, foam objects, and, of course, aerosol. Recently, they have preferred to work with mixed media, bringing together various materials, but also moving outside the framework of walls and barricades – the group has been publishing zines and comic books, creating GIF art, and working with video. From 2012–2013, the 665 team took part in the Synesthesia festival (Montenegro), Gogolfest (Kiev), the Blank Canvas festival (Tula Region), and two exhibitions at the Kvartira Art Centre in Dnepropetrovsk.
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