Mikhail Shembakov (Verga)

About the Mural

"The Young Couple" Mural

 
"The year 2024 has been declared the Year of the Family in our country by the President. And our city is competing for the status of Youth Capital of Russia in 2025. In the painting, I depicted two faces—a male and a female—they symbolize the family," explained the author. "The theme of the art festival is 'We Are Proud,' and it was important for me to talk specifically about family and everything connected with it in my work. You could discuss the meaning for a long time, but for me, creating the drawing itself is more important; let everyone determine the meaning of the piece for themselves," says the artist.

 
According to the street artist, graffiti is much more than just painting on walls, and the festival taking place in Omsk this summer is significantly more interesting in its caliber than it might seem.

 
Mikhail is only 22 years old. He started drawing long ago but entered graffiti culture just five years back. To become a participant in the festival representing Omsk, he went through a selection process.

 
"In February, I got a job as a sales consultant in a store selling graffiti paint. We have a regular customer—Edvin Frank, who paints quite a few murals and complex commissions all over Omsk," shared Mikhail. "We got talking, and he told me about this festival in our city, its level, and the artists involved. Edvin advised me on how best to prepare the application, how to make the sketch more compelling to appeal to the jury. I drew the sketch and submitted the application, which was approved," the artist recounted.

 
Within graffiti culture, the Omsk-based artist does a bit of everything. He paints small "tags" and creates large-scale pieces on fences and the walls of abandoned buildings. All of this helps promote his name within the scene and increase his recognition.

 
"The content of graffiti is always either your name or the name of what you want to represent in this way. I try to push more towards complexity. I use new fonts that I invent myself each time, and I incorporate a wider variety of colors in my work," added Misha.