Four-Seasons Graffiti in Busy Sofia Underpass Draw Attention to Climate Change

An busy underpass is being painted all over with graffiti of the four seasons to draw attention to climate change, Sofia, August 24, 2023 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

24.08.2023 16:29

(BTA)

A busy Sofia underpass is being painted all over with graffiti of the four seasons. The paintings are meant to draw attention to climate change, Dilyana Angelova of the Visionary Foundation told journalists who were invited to see the process of painting the graffiti. The underpass is located at the intersection of Bulgaria Boulevard and Todor Kableshkov Boulevard.

Visionary Foundation are part of the Sofia City Council's programme for transforming urban spaces.

She said the paintings draw attention to the four seasons, which are becoming less and less distinct in Bulgaria.

Ivo Iliev, known by his artistic name Yeto, is working on a winter landscape from the Rhodope Mountains on one of the walls. He explains that he is using chess figures as a symbol of how each piece has its own position. Chess players must think several moves ahead in order for the game to progress in their favour. This should be our approach to nature," the graffiti artist told BTA. "With nature, we have to think about the consequences of our actions," he added.

The project involves artists from Bulgaria, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Austria, Germany and the UK.

This project shows the new urban policy, which the Municipal Council is pursuing together with the district mayors of the boroughs of Triaditsa, Dimitar Bozhilov, and Vitosha, Theodore Petkov, with the support of the Together for Manastirski Livadi-West association, said Sofia Municipal Council Chairman Georgi Georgiev. "We have adopted a program that allows talented graffiti artists to use spaces where they can legally organize such events," he said. He also said that the administrative burden has been reduced to make it easier for such projects to happen.

The graffiti have a special coating that makes it harder to scratch or paint over them.

Georgiev said that the historical centre of Sofia will be cleaned to give it a new look.

A free painting wall for graffiti artists will be unveiled soon.

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