Weird news: Artist Virtually 'Paints' Ancient Drawings Onto Modern Homes Around The World

Friday, 16 January 2015

Artist Virtually 'Paints' Ancient Drawings Onto Modern Homes Around The World

Muralists need a lot of things that aren't easy to come by: money, connections, and a wall for starters. Polish artist Maria Umievskaya realized she could approximate the reach of a public artist without any of these resources, using only the internet. Her virtual series juxtaposes clean modern architecture with romantic imagery inspired by Asia.

House in Gokurakuji / Kawabe Naoya Architects

The "walls" in this case are pictures of walls, the facades of contemporary architecture from Japan, Germany and Portugal. Onto these virtual white canvases, Umievskaya superimposes her own drawings, which reflect a lifelong fascination with Japanese iconography.

Some of the renderings wouldn't be out of place in a historical picture book -- for instance, a line drawing of a Tang dynasty court lady, distinguished as such by her dress. Others are as contemporary as the buildings Umievskaya chose. The image below, for example, is of a house tagged with the face of the up-and-coming Japanese model Chiharu Okunugi, surrounded by chrysanthemum blossoms.

maria umievskaya

HouseK / Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects

"Murals transforms city into an art gallery for everyone [sic]," Umievskaya wrote in an email to HuffPost, explaining her interest in the genre. Scroll down for a tour through her fantastical city, which could only exist online.

maria umievskaya