Apl315

Apl315 (b. 1986 in Odessa, Ukraine) started off as a graffiti writer in the early 2000’s and to date had numerous solo exhibitions in the Ukraine and abroad. His education is key to understanding the artist’s individual strategy: as a professional entomologist educated at the Odessa State University’s invertebrate department, he researched organic aesthetics and created images, which, from afar, looked like the silhouettes of insects.

While continuously working on the streets, Apl315 began to move into new territory and migrated to post-graffiti practices. In the second half of the 2010s, he began using alternative media when creating new works. In interdisciplinary art projects, the artist combines his entomologist background with the newly acquired passion for amateur archaeological research and metal detection. In his case, the metal detector becomes a tool of artistic expression as most of his newer artworks are assembled from objects found on the streets, beaches and in parks. Old nails, coins and rusted cans tell the stories of bygone days, referring to the classical baroque vanitas genre which was focused on the transience of life.

His most recent projects are dedicated to the war-torn areas in Ukraine and the Balkans. In large-scale multimedia installations, he asks questions about the fragility of modern-day ecosystems and uncovers deep historical traumas of Eastern and South-Central Europe.

About the project

“Current Value”

Using symbolic (written) language like the one between graffiti writers as an effective example to successfully transmit data, the Schöneberg district shall be studied in detail and taken as a site for research / collection / generation of visual images in the urban environment dedicated to outstanding events of the past era. The subject of research are objects of the urban visual space – German heraldry and its elements. In an aspiration to continue to develop our own visual language of symbols/images/signs, these elements shall be further interpreted, transmitting their information through the language of artistic images. The process of data transmission can thus be sped up through associative thinking, bypassing barriers and time for their recognition. This will also open up the opportunity to a more efficient perception of information for a larger unprepared audience.

Photos: Christian Rückert