A Deutsche Bahn project on the theme of "façade art"
An article by Manuel Gerullis, founder of the artist collective Buntic-Media
Initiated by Deutsche Bahn, Buntic-Media and a collective of 24 artists from the region and half of Europe completely redesigned the spacious subway complex at Ludwigshafen main station in September and October 2020.
Under the motto "Meeting of Styles", the artists transformed numerous drab and monotonous surfaces into a lively graffiti gallery using the power of colour. The graffiti festival of the same name, "MOS" for short, which has been taking place worldwide since 2002 and is considered the largest festival of its kind in the world, has been organised by Buntic-Media for many years and enjoys a worldwide reputation. So it was obvious to organise a mini-meeting as part of the Meeting of Styles series and thus enliven the station.
Says Manuell Gerullis: "The power of motifs and colours is able to bring quality of life and atmosphere to an urban space that is predominantly characterised by monotony and monotony. The design of the station subway was therefore a very appealing project for us. Because here, with the graffiti art, we were able to transform a sterile, lifeless subway, through which people previously hurried, into a lively, colourful open-air gallery that invites people to linger and look at the pictures."
How many hours of work? How much material? How many artists?
Around 1,500 hours of work
Approx. 400 litres of wall paint
Approx. 1,000 spray paint cans
24 artists
Participating artists:
Alien, Koz Dos (Venezuela)
Mate One (Italien)
Sorvy Sovrino, Cany Sanchez (Spanien)
Dirty Six (Frankreich)
Enuf, Friend (Belgien)
Esobe (Polen)
Elevenade (Russland)
Ums (Darmstadt)
C.Saso, Sport (Ludwigshafen/Mannheim)
Smok, Yours, Sqer (Wiesbaden)
Honsar, Cor, Naxos Kolletiv (Frankfurt)
Pern, Kaot (Bielefeld)
Thank you, Manuel, for your information!
A walk through the artistic underworld of the main station
More information about some artists:
Alpine scenery: Manuel Gerullis
Manuel Gerullis (49) from Wiesbaden (Germany) is the founder of the art collective Buntic Media and founded the Meeting of Styles Festival in 2002, which is now one of the most important events in the scene. As a teenager, he began with illegal spray actions on trains or other surfaces; today he sprays around the globe and gets paid for it. His credo: "I want to directly shape my environment, enrich it with my images."
Mushroom and animal landscape: ESOBE BC
Peter 'Baca' Baczynski (35) was born in Poland and became addicted to graffiti as a teenager. After a period of living in England, it led him to the Netherlands, from where he has also been drawn more often to neighbouring countries, for example, to also carry out commissioned work for private individuals "who like to have it unusual and colourful" around their four walls. He had also gladly and fervently 'upgraded' other bare facades. His very special thanks go to Manuel Gerullis, who had invited him to this "sprayer meeting" in Ludwigshafen. "This work is completely 'freehand'," ESOBE emphasises. And: It took longer than planned because it was tremendous fun to chat with the other colleagues...
Winter cold in volcanic landscape: ENOF
Gaston Jannsen (23) aka ENOF was born in Beijing (China), has a Dutch passport and lives in Belgium. In his two-day work, the artist has used different styles in addition to cool and warm colours; the strong red provides an additional contrast. In addition, his penchant for oil painting has been incorporated into this mural.
Expressive eyes von CAYN
The Spanish artist, whose real name is Borja Sanchez (38), worked for two days on this mural, completely applied with a can. Cayn currently lives and works in Berlin, but he's a busy and curious guy who rarely stays in one place for more than two years, he says: "My life is painting and travelling! And it all began in his teenage years in Barcelona, where he first sprayed 'squiggly letters'...