The urban street art project Art United us continues to attract a large number of highly talented artists from around the world. One of them is Belgian artist Bart Smeets, better known in the art world as Smates and his hyperrealistic and playful murals, who just finished working on this new large-scale piece I Kiev, Ukraine.
Titled ”A Flamenco in Kyiv”, the new mural shows the image of two interlaced flamingo heads; one showing a pink flamingo submerging its head under water whilst the other one is created by the water-splash of the first one.
The meaning of the mural isn’t clear yet, but we know that Smates lives and works in Mechelen, Belgium, a city in the province of Antwerp, in the Flemish part of the country.
Having a look at the etymological meaning of the word “flamenco” and “Flemish” we find that they might have similar roots. Flamenco is a Spanish word first used to describe the Gypsy dance in Andalusia. The word in Spanish meant “a Fleming, native of Flanders” (Dutch Vlaming) and also “flamingo.” Speculation are varied and colourful about the connection between the bird, the people, and the gypsy dance of Andalusia.
One fact is that Spain ruled Flanders for many years in XVI century, and King Carlos I brought with him to Madrid an entire Flemish court. One etymology suggests the dance was so called from the bright costumes and energetic movements, which the Spanish associated with Flanders; another is that Spaniards, especially Andalusians, like to name things by their opposites, and because the Flemish were tall and blond and the gypsies short and dark, the gypsies were called “Flemish;” others hold that flamenco was the general Spanish word for all foreigners, gypsies included; or that Flemish noblemen, bored with court life, took to slumming among the gypsies. (Source)
The mural was organised by Art United us, curated by Geo Leros, Iryna Kanishcheva, Waone Interesni Kazki, Ilya Sagaidak .
Images by Geo Leros
Images by Geo Leros
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