ChemiS: After Us, The Deluge

Street artist Dmitrij Proškin aka ChemiS draws attention to currently important topics that affect society as a whole as well as each of us through his latest work. The large-format painting entitled Po nás potopa (After Us, The Deluge) warns of the consequences of global warming and rising sea levels. The image of a girl trying to stay afloat while balancing on garbage also reminds us that we should try to keep the world inhabitable for generations to come. 

ChemiS created this impressive 6 x 3 metre picture primarily with spray paint directly in the Myslbek Shopping Gallery, where you can come see it free of charge from 15 March till 30 September. 

The picture itself took ChemiS about a week to paint, but he worked on the design for over a month. He created this large picture with the aim of drawing attention to the neglected topic of ecology, which has currently taken a back seat behind other topics resonating globally. 'We wanted people to remember that this is a persisting problem that is constantly accumulating, so it is as important to us as any political situation in the world,' says ChemiS.

Children appear quite often in ChemiS's work. There is a contrast between innocence and the consequences that future generations will bear because of the behaviour of their parents and grandparents. When visitors look at the painting Po nás potopa (After Us, The Deluge), the artist wants them to realize that the issue of global warming and its associated manifestations, such as rising sea levels, will not just disappear, and that they will also affect landlocked countries, including the Czech Republic, although this may not be apparent at first glance. 'This is why we should all contribute to improving the situation in some way and try to remember that even if it may not affect our generation, it will certainly affect the next generation,' says ChemiS, appealing to people.

The painting Po nás potopa (After Us, The Deluge) was mostly created with spray paint, which the artist works with most often. Like many street artists, he started out with graffiti. The painting includes a QR code with a link to an interactive map of scientists from the Climate Central organization. The aforementioned study illustrates the gradual rise of sea levels and the impact of this phenomenon on large cities and coastal states in graphic animation. ChemiS attached a link to the study to the exhibited painting, so those who are interested can better connect the suggestive scene with specific places that will be most affected by rising sea levels. 'I depicted a girl who is trying to save herself from the consequences of our behaviour, namely the production of greenhouse gases and the unsparing treatment of nature and waste,' says ChemiS, describing his painting Po nás potopa (After Us, The Deluge). 'She is standing on her tiptoes on all that trash, trying to stay afloat. Just as in the painting, all our actions are useless if we don't have solid ground under our feet.'


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This prominent street artist comes from the Ural in Kazakhstan, and he has lived in the Czech Republic since childhood. He started with graffiti, later moving on to murals, i.e. large-scale paintings on walls. 

The painting Po nás potopa (After Us, The Deluge) in the Myslbek Shopping Gallery continues the theme of his previous work. 
ChemiS often uses his work to comment on overlooked human rights, as well as social, environmental and political issues. He worked with Amnesty International on the Write for Freedom project, which included paintings on current topics such as child labour, conflicts in Africa and the oil issue.

He considers his invitation to be the first Czech person to paint on the main wall of the Graffiti Hall of Fame in New York, where graffiti culture originated, to be one of his greatest successes. ChemiS came to the attention of the Czech public with a mural of crying President Masaryk, a portrait of Václav Havel, and a Ukrainian girl hiding under the Ukrainian flag.