Sea murals

Considered to be one of the oldest art forms, they date to the Upper Palaeolithic 50,000 years ago. The first ones, painted on cave walls, depicted important moments from everyday life of the ancient people. With time, murals started to adorn the walls and ceilings of buildings, temples and tombs. Now they decorate urban areas, fitting perfectly in with street art. They are great social dialogue starters or reflection awakeners. Exploring important universal themes, they sometimes

cause considerable controversies, though. Differing so much in the form and message, they fascinate and inspire us. Communing with murals, we participate in the free art movement, whether we like it or not. Murals are art in the streets, not vandalism.

Artist: M-city Świętego Wojciecha 7, Gdynia

M-city received Galion Gdyński award from the Mayor of Gdynia for this mural. It was created in 2012 as part of the 2nd edition of Traffic Design festival. The mural depicts ocean liners looking like blocks of flats and thus illustrates the saying that Gdynia, its location, is the city where ships have taken the place of residential buildings

Artist: M-city 122 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, Paris

Painted in 2011, it can be seen in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, home to the largest wall paintings in the city. The mural shows two boats. Is there a safe harbour waiting for them or will they be condemned to sail for eternity?

Artist: M-city 18 Harriet Street, Aberdeen

Created in 2017 in connection with the 1st edition of Nuart Aberdeen festival. Two opposite walls of the building feature two tankers at the moment of surrealistic shipwreck.

Artist: M-city Cracovia ship, Poland

A mural on the bow of the vessel? Why not? In 2017, the bow was decorated with a colourful whale in the style of stained glass art created by Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish artist living in Krakow in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The vessel transports passengers and vehicles on the Poland – Sweden ferry route, Świnoujście – Ystad.

Artist: M-city 26 Krupnicza, Krakow

The theme of the mural executed in 2012 is the city of Krakow represented as a steamer drifting across a gigantic aquarium. It is attacked with ammunition looking like fish. This vision brings to mind stereotypes about Krakow, perceived as a fortress, a conservative place, the bastion of traditional values.

Mariusz Waras - M-city

Born in 1978 in Gdynia, holder of a postdoctoral degree, professor at the Academy of Art in Szczecin, in charge of the Painting and Street Art Studio at the Faculty of Painting and New Media. In addition to the academic career, he is engaged in graphic design, installation art and large format painting projects. It is thanks to murals and especially the early M-city project, a showcase of Mariusz Waras’ style, that he is now recognised as one of the best world street artists. From the very beginning, his works have been deeply rooted in urban surroundings, with themes developed around architectural details, industrial areas, featuring shipyard facilities and transport means among other things. His style evolves, yet still remains graphically modest and blunt. Among the early dehumanised landscapes, machines in the process of production and destruction, the outcomes of playing with unlimited possibilities of combination offered by ever-expanding collection of elements, there have found their way personal reflections, statements, sometimes in the form of a terse comment on what is happening around – a wink at one of street art sources. He also performs the functions of a curator of exhibitions and other artistic events.

To learn more about Mariusz Waras and his work, please visit: www.m-city. org oraz www.instagram.com/stencilcity

Justine Pechuzal & Liza McElroy 135 4th Ave, Seward

This wonderful mural painted by two Alaskan artists portrays four humpback whales. This is a kind of tribute paid to the animals you can see and admire with your own eyes in their natural environment from mid-April to November in Kenai Fjords National Park situated near Seward.

Yuko Shimizu, Coby Kennedy & Stefan Sagmeister, Wade Jeffery (Sagmeister & Walsh) 115 Jay St, Nowy Jork

A part of DUMBO Walls project, with DUMBO being a short for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It consists of two murals facing each other. Both feature the word “Yes”, with the lettering in black and white in one of them and in the form of an octopus emerging from the abyss in the other. The positive message of the murals attracts in particular those in love, who use the two murals for their engagement or wedding photo shoot backgrounds.

VSA Partners & Colossal Media 602 Surf Ave, Nowy Jork

The mural can be seen while walking along the Coney Island Boardwalk, on one of the walls of the New York Aquarium. Various sea creatures are painted against the background of nearby buildings. The mural was created with the help of 100 volunteers.

Artist unknown Ihwa Mural Village, Seoul

The mural depicts koi fish, believed to be a symbol of perseverance in adversity. They were painted in 2006 as part of the government Ihwa-dong Naksan Project aimed at revitalisation of a declining suburb of Ihwa-dong. The murals created under the project became so popular among tourists that tension built up between the local residents and the visitors. In 2016, to prevent the growing discontent, the fish staircase mural along with the other murals were painted over with grey paint.