Ukrainian graffiti artist RUBAE presented the first book with his own works. In it, the artist collected 132 graffiti pieces he created on the freight cars of the «Kovalska» construction company’s trains from the fall of 2018 to the winter of 2022
In a comment for DTF Magazine, RUBAE said that when he created the book he wanted «to document a unique period in the history of Ukrainian graffiti and to popularize the underground culture among people who are not part of it». Another goal of the book is to highlight the Ukrainian graffiti movement, which might have been overlooked by the international community.
The book contains photographs of cars on which the artist has placed his graffiti. The work is based on the interpretation of the logos of famous international and Ukrainian companies by RUBAE, which the artist calls «his main feature».
«Standard, classic graffiti no longer surprises anyone these days, so I always try to experiment, look for the right visual ingredient for the right context. This prompted me to play with different forms, techniques and composition, — RUBAE explained. — The interpretation of logos and brands touches everyone’s experience. People understand my work better if something they already know is interpreted. This arouses their emotions, so there is communication with the audience».
RUBAE said that he created the first graffiti on the «Kovalska» freight cars back in 2018, and as early as 2020, «there was not a single empty space on them to paint».
«It was these freight cars that made a kind of revolution in the Freight Train Graffiti Bombing and Kyiv Graffiti Writers communities. The absence of metal ribs on the surface of the freight cars allows you to draw at your own pleasure, as if on canvas».
The artist added that despite the positive attitude to graffiti from the management of the company, he has repeatedly encountered a negative reaction from «Ukrainian Railways» workers and station workers who called the police.
You can pre-order Rubae the Book via the link until April 30. You can choose one of the options on the website: basic, signed by the artist, or «individualized».
RUBAE is a Ukrainian graffiti artist, founder of his own brand Ugly Cool and author of one of the most famous tags in Kyiv.
The artist believes that each created «piece» and tag are unique, but likes to create large-scale works. And he considers his projects on Karavaevi Dachi and Rusanivka in Kyiv to be some of the best graffiti in his practice.
