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On the streets of cities in various countries, we can admire many interesting murals.
We encounter propaganda, advertising, artistic, social,
as well as aesthetic paintings related to place branding. Today will be about the latter, indirectly.
Indirectly, because the mural I want to present to you fits
perfectly into the space of the place where it was painted
both artistically and in terms of content.

Together with a group of professionals from various fields, I was invited to Georgia to create an unusual mural. Unusual because it's not related to advertising and social activities.

The team included, along with me: Adam Buka - art historian, filmmaker, project organizer, addicted to the Caucasus sun, enthusiast of helping, who values goodness and adventure most; Agata Walinowicz - set designer and costume designer; Emilia Pietras - artist, model, PR specialist, working
for a healthy lifestyle; Janina Tłuczkiewicz - artist, designer; Łukasz Pisarek - architect, involved in set design and artistic projects, gaining experience in Poland, Germany
and the USA; Martyna Zybała - lawyer, dealing with the so-called landscape law and aesthetics of public space; Radek Skrzypczyk - painter artist, permanently collaborating with Good Looking company, organizing actions in urban space for the homeless.

The entire team got to work. What challenges awaited us? There were several: dimensioning, priming and surface preparation, element composition, style selection and typography. We used the mchedruli script variant, which means knightly. The name itself sounds poetic.
The assumption we received from the client was to convey
content related to Georgian culture and a message about mercy.
The mural was created at the St. Camillus Center for the Disabled at the Camillian Center, which serves to help the poor and sick residents of the Caucasian country. It is a modern medical
and rehabilitation complex where the poorest have access to doctors of almost all specialties. We had over 80 m of wall length at our disposal, with a height of over 4 m at the highest point. Above the wall, on a high hill, the monumental monument to the history of Georgia and Christianity is visible, with depictions of kings and saints, funded and planned by Zurab Tsereteli - painter, sculptor and architect. Our mural harmonizes with the monument's message.

SEE HOW IT WAS CREATED

We started with planning and sketching. During several meetings, the concept took shape and was cleaned of unnecessary elements. The style was chosen.

It's good to have a good architect on the team - Łukasz, who thanks to his skills and spatial imagination dimensioned and visualized the wall. The appearance of the wall also determined the division of teamwork. As Łukasz claims:

"The mural was a challenge because placing it on 80 m determined a linear sequence of compositional points. This form influenced the organization of work, the team worked mainly in smaller groups, but with the possibility of mixing them. I think this allowed each of us to work in an optimal and harmonious personal rhythm... and thanks to that with a smile."

Having the dimensions and segmented fields for placing elements at our disposal, we got down
to preparing the concept in graphic programs.

We started with the design of the main elements, which are the figures on the mural,
supplementing the graphics with additional details. It was very important to place the figures in specific historical epochs, so the accuracy of representations and costumes was subject to Agata's evaluation.
According to her, each costume carries a different message:

"Saint Nino is most often depicted in a white tunic, the white garment refers to her spiritual guidance, the patron saint of Georgia like a white dove brought peace and healing."

"Saint Camillus is depicted in a black cassock with a red cross. Red crosses were associated with the symbol of criminals led to executions on the gallows. Now they symbolize the Camillians' dedication to the incurably ill."

"Klara is already in contemporary attire from the turn of the “'80s and”'90s, a white dress with a covered neckline and bow speaks
of simplicity, modesty and girlishness."

After arriving in Georgia, we still had to look at the primed wall, check its surface, apply a second layer, prepare and mix the selected colors, and buy painting tools.
The entire mural creation process was overseen by Radek - who paints murals with Good Looking on a daily basis, and Emilia and Janka, who ensured accurate reproduction of details in synthetic form, especially in the faces of the figures. Professional technical preparation is very important. Already in the painting process itself, painting tricks were used that speed up the creation of some parts of the mural: using painter's tape, string for halo outlines, etc.

With the finished design, we could use a projector to start the night pencil outlines of the mural, which resulted in this view.

We could spend days painting together. The finished graphic design underwent minor modifications under the influence of Georgia's charms, as well as the local community. For example, the vine leaf was modified. And its sketch came from the hand of the lawyer - Martyna. The vine, like the entire mural, is the result of teamwork. Since Georgians use three types of script, the translation of quotes selected by Adam was handled by a Camillian, Brother Zakro. One of my passions is typography, so together with Emilia, Adam and the Georgians, I took care of reproducing the letters on the mural.
We had to be very careful not to elongate or bend the letters in an inappropriate shape,
as this would change the context of the statement.

Thanks to the intensive work of the team and local community, we can admire the mural in its current form. As Martyna believes:

"The openness of the Camillians and the courage of Radek, who directed the project execution, who decided
to also put the brush in the hands of
non-professionals for elements that don't require painting skill or precision. This gave the mural character - before our eyes, it was co-created by center employees, passersby, consecrated persons, including Calcutta sisters, and also children! The project sparked inspiration.

Through this approach, the space around the wall gained value - it wasn't just painted over,
but carries an emotional charge and - I believe, a spiritual one. And it revitalized the urban fabric
(the mural is visible from the road) and the center's surroundings.

According to Adam, our work pleased the center's employees and residents. For example, Sofo, a technical worker at the center, joined the work. Sofo is a painter, but 14 years ago, after his son's birth, he abandoned painting and as he said himself - took up something serious. Now, for the first time since then, he picked up
a brush. You could see he was having a great time.

And now a bit about the mural's message. The painting begins with a quote about love and trust without limits from the Book of Isaiah. Right behind it we see a reference to Georgian tradition, the symbol of the lion,
found in Georgia's coat of arms. In the interpretation of the Director of the Camillian Mission in Georgia, Fr. Paweł Dyla, the Georgian girl represents the state of soul of a person who trusted God's mercy and performs works of mercy.

Next appears an image taken from the Orthodox icon of the holy church: Armenian, Orthodox and Catholic - the patron saint of Georgia, St. Nino. The painting is also connected with the history of the Camillians and their ministry. The third drawing depicts the giant of mercy - St. Camillus, who holds in his arms the suffering Christ, embodying the suffering of the whole world, who come to the Center for comfort and healing. In the fourth leading drawing we see Bl. Klara Badano, an Italian who embodies courage, heroically struggling with bone cancer. Her attitude is an inspiration for many sick people in their fight against their ailments and suffering. All figures emerge from the Georgian landscape of beautiful mountains and Black Sea waves. The mural ends with the symbol of the vine - referring to the Eucharist, love without limits - from God to people even at the price of death. The vine also informs about one of the main branches of Georgia's economy. The mural is meant to carry a message of joy, peace and love, hence the very intense colors and pure hues that stand out against the background of the surroundings, greenery and neglected, gray buildings.

The mural can be viewed at the Camillian Mission Center in Georgia, at the Rehabilitation Center
for the Disabled. On a daily basis it is a message directed to residents and patients,
and on September 30, 2016, Pope Francis will admire it.

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