Recently invited to Walk&Talk Azores Festival in the Island of São Miguel, Romanian artist Obie Platon painted a large mural entitled “Platonic Forms Story”, which is now part of the festival’s Public Art Circuit.
The mural presents the five characters created by the artist over the past 14 years. Since 2000, his work evolved around five unique and varied styles, each corresponding to a geometric shape of the Greek philosopher Plato – the platonic forms – and inspired by the earth, water, fire, air and the universe.
Allan Dalla, the most popular of his characters, represents the earth, solid geometry and its related symbol is the cube. It is a result of kinetic art and surrealism, and its matter and spirit derive from all sorts of contrasts, from the positive and negative, therefore embracing human polarity in its diversity. On the other hand, Pop Prince represents the air, freestyle, all that is commercial, naive, aggressive and ironic. Then, there is Madame Mezzanine, a symbol of the universe, of femininity. Lost Letter, the fire, collects local myths and turns them into what you could define as modern folklore by adapting certain messages to the current context and, finally, Qrip Tic, the symbol of water, of the ego, is mostly indecipherable and manifests through the art of writing.
These characters are usually represented separately, however, after many journeys, they have arrived at the same destination – Walk&Talk. Brought together for the first time, they reach equilibrium. In order to create a vibrant and powerful visual experience for those present at the festival, the artist focused on the surroundings and represented natural elements – the ocean, the trees, the sky – as integrated parts of his characters. Therefore, the five characters become a reflection, like a mirror, of the environment that inspired the artist for his recent surrealist piece.
Other works
About Obie Platon
One of the most active artists on the local street art scene, but also abroad, with two recent murals in Portugal and Germany, Obie Platon is known for his complex murals, inspired from the geometry of Plato and influenced by Romanian culture, social beliefs and popular imagery. His work also includes sculptures and installations, paintings and design projects.
