British artist D*Face’s latest work is unveiled in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of the city’s 400th anniversary last May 31st. Urban art organization Artscape, curator behind the mural, sees this as yet another addition to the region’s ever expanding collection of international street art.
In the midst of covid lockdowns and restrictions, urban art organisation Artscape has managed to get several of the world’s top street artists to Sweden to make their mark. In May this year nine artists have been invited to Gothenburg as part of the city celebrating 400 years. Among these names is street art veteran D*Face, who is invited to create a mural on the international airport of Landvetter.
– 2021 has been another tough year for cultural events. Being able to present a brand new public mural by international heavyweight D*Face feels amazing, says Artscape’s cofounder Daniel Wakeham.
London based artist D*Face has been creating pop and punk art inspired works of art since the late 90’s and have paved the way for the urban art movement both in his hometown and globally. His works have been exhibited from Reykjavik to Taipei.
His latest mural “Embrace for Landing” faces the main entrance at Landvetter airport, greeting all travelers on arrival. A couple is depicted, held in an embrace and mysteriously looking out into the distance, painted in D*Face’s iconic style.
Beside constituting a new cultural landmark, it encompasses an ambitious project initiated by Artscape to unite the region’s vast amount of street art, and promote it as a world leading destination for urban art. Several large-scale projects hosted by both Artscape and local curators in the region have brought a significant number of murals, enough to compete with other international street art cities. The initiative – West Sweden Street Art Trail (WSSAT) – aims to gather the works of artists such as Smug, Dulk and Rone in an easily accessible digital platform and map.
What’s happening here in this region is a joint effort by artists, cities and the communities where public art is brought forward to the benefit of everyone. D*Face is one of many artists, both local and international, joining us in this venture to bring art closer to the people, explains Tor Hedendahl, one of Artscapes’ founders.
The West Sweden Street Art Trail is just a natural extension of our core idea: to make art accessible to the public, adds Daniel Wakeham.
The mural of D*Face was inaugurated on 31 May by Artscape together with the mayors of Gothenburg and Borås, the director of Landvetter airport and the artist himself.
Take a look below to see more photos of the project.
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