Street Art. One of the ways to express yourself. One of the ways to fight for your position. One of the ways to stand against the system. Street art has many perspectives, opinions and attitudes, but it is art, which inspires, rebels, but in the first place, messages. This kind of art form aims to show that you are allowed to talk; you don´t need to follow the crowd, you have the right to be unique and to reveal all sides of your personality, no matter if they will be understood or accepted.
Why have we picked this topic, you ask? First of all, ORILABO Project stays for authenticity, being yourself and embracing your personality. The second reason is our beautiful, urban and versatile city of Cologne, where street art has become one of the essential parts not only of cultural, political, but also every-day life.
We decided to share with you a couple of cool and fascinating spots in Cologne, where you can find hidden street art gems. So enjoy it:)
The first highlight of the street art culture of Cologne:
1. Murals of Ehrenfeld
The mural "Matriarchy" was painted by Ukrainian street artist Aleksei Bordusov, who is also known by nickname "AEC" from the former artist duo Interesni Kazki. This painting represents a homage to the woman. AEC wanted to pay tribute to the woman as a giver of new life and who doesn’t usually start wars and supports peace.
Address: Vogelsanger Str. 197, 50825 Cologne
The work of Alexander Isakov, who is a part of the collective, is madness. He is known for his personal style, which consists of delicate patterns, architectural shapes, and colorful accents(ornaments). His temple attracts a lot of attention on the streets in Ehrenfeld, also because he painted it with the brush - just using a ruler and a stencil.... amazing
Address: Heliosstraße 2, 50825 Cologne
This mural "Bag over your head by the local K" created by Cologne graffiti artist Christopher Böhmer, known under the name "Mr. Trash" attracted our attention the most. Why is that?
The reason is the topic that it explicates, namely internet addiction. At the sight of this work, everyone who is constantly looking at their cell phone and hardly being aware of everything that is happening around, feels a little bit trapped. We think that this subject deserves to be paid attention to, because the modern world is filled with technologies and sometimes people do not notice how they are caught in this digital world, without noticing the world around. And we feel, talking about it in the form of art is one of the perfect ways to reach people´s mind.
Address: Hackländerstraße 2, 50825 Cologne
Another kind of street art, which is very popular on the streets of Ehrenfeld are Paste-ups.
Paste-up:
a composition of light flat objects pasted onto sheet of paper, board, or other backing, as:
Paste-ups are mostly used to spread the small messages or like visit cards of the artists.
We found couple of ones, that caught our eyes. Swipe to see some!
Address: Ehrenfeld Station, 50825 Cologne
Finally, we would like to point out that art is a very subjective concept and every perception is unique. Because of that, we notice a couple of pieces, that could be considered as art, from our perspective, on the streets of Cologne.
- Thoughts are free
- The car with zebra print...art-ish and crazy enough
Address: Marienstraße, 50825 Cologne
Orilabo Recommendation: Büchermarkt - amazing store with a big variety of urban and modern books, including a big collection of the art books
