Mural Artists of Rock Bay

It's been a half a year since I posted to this site. My last post was about poetry -- and it seems that I've been lost in poems for six months! I'm celebrating my return to blogging with a post on mural art. 

In February of 2021 I posted about some of the murals I'd discovered in downtown Victoria, especially in the area north of Chinatown. My 2021 post can be found at https://linesfromthecoast.blogspot.com/2021/02/exploring-some-of-downtowns-murals.html. 

In the February 2021 post I included a few murals created as part of the Rock Bay Mural Project. This project is documented in detail at https://deankalyan.com/the-rock-bay-mural-project/. The project was coordinated by two members of the Songhees nation, Darlene Tait and Butch Dick.

Here are two of the pieces created during this project, to capture a hint of their richness:

Rock Bay Mural project. I took this photo a couple of years ago on an earlier walk in the area.

Another image from the Rock Bay Mural project, also taken on an earlier walk.

An appointment a couple of months ago in Rock Bay gave me the opportunity to further explore the area, and I found several more murals. 

First, a map might be helpful.

Rock Bay is the inlet to the south. The area to the north, bounded by Gorge Road, is semi-industrial, with a number of warehouse type buildings with large blank walls. These present the opportunity for a "concrete canvas". The Rock Bay Mural Project was in fact called just that -- Concrete Canvas. Source: Google Maps

A "place-making" mural showing Rock Bay's identity, on Bridge and David Streets. The Bay Street Bridge figures in some of the art.

While exploring the murals, I learned a little about two mural artists.  

The first one, Jeff Maltby, is local, although I'm not able to find anything current about him. The second mural artist, Waone Interesni Kazki, is Ukrainian, and the Rock Bay mural that he created is possibly his only one in Victoria. He still posts regularly to Instagram.  

Maltby's murals evoke images from Victoria's past.

Mural by Jeff Maltby, "Public Works through the Years". 

The images which follow are detail from Maltby's murals focussing on public works through the ages. Maltby's murals are now well over ten years old, and vegetation has grown in front of the right hand side of one.

Detail from Maltby's mural on public works

Another section from Maltby's mural on public works

This part of the mural was hidden behind a tree

A second mural of Maltby's in the Rock Bay area, also with a theme of public works.

Detail from the second mural follows:

Detail from the left hand side of the mural

Detail from the right hand side of the mural

Maltby has at least two other murals in Victoria, in Chinatown. Perhaps I'll feature them in a future post.

The other muralist I discovered has created a mural with a completely different tone from Maltby's work -- more like a Salvador Dali painting. The muralist is Waone Interesni Kazki. I don't know the story of how he came to be involved in the Rock Bay mural project, but I do know that he posts on Instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/waone_interesnikazki/ 

Like Maltby's mural, Kazki's is in an area surrounded by semi-industrial uses. Here is the mural, as photographed by Kazki. All my photos had building shadows obscuring parts of the mural, so I'm using Kazki's.

"Transformation", by Waoni Interesni Kazki. (Photo from the muralist, at https://www.waone.net/murals-1#/transformation/)  

Here is the artist's statement:

"Watching the recycling center daily work got me thinking about quantity of rubbish made by one customer, and how that quantity transforms into endless ocean of rubbish, when you see it collected in one place. 

"The small colored human figures, representing the variety of peoples and nations on Earth, they are falling into some kind of molten mass, which transforming into big multi-colored human figure, which represents humanity as a whole. The multi-colored figure pushing the planet somewhere. Where? It's up to you, every day you make а decision where our planet will go. "

I like the thought behind Kazki's statement, that every day we make decisions on "where our planet will go".

Here is detail on the figures that Kazki describes, falling into the molten mass.

Detail from Kazki's mural.

Finally, one more photo showing the ambience of the area where Kazki's mural is located.

Kazki noted how hard it was to keep working on the project with the noise, dirt, smells and dust from the surrounding area. He said earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones were his best friends. (Photo credit: https://www.waone.net/murals-1#/transformation/)

Kazki has numerous Instagram posts; he is well-known in European circles, and since 2014 has been using his art to promote Ukraine's cause, and to fundraise for both the army and Ukraine's peoples. He also is an advocate for the richness and diversity of Ukraine's art scene. 

This is a screenshot from one of Kazki's recent Instagram posts.

While I've focussed on the murals of Maltby and Kazki in this post, there are others to be discovered in Rock Bay. Here are a couple, artists unknown. 

Between Bay Street and John Street

Between Bay Street and John Street

Hillside Avenue, near Bridge Street in Rock Bay, artist also unknown

I liked the detail of the flowers. Unfortunately, I could not find an artist's name.

As readers of my posts will know, I enjoy discovering art on the streets. During my walkabout in Rock Bay, I found two examples of art which weren't murals. I'll finish the post with these.

Recycled street lamps transformed into an art installation on top of a building; it definitely intrigues! 

Graffiti on seacan storage containers...and a sculpture randomly parked in the storage yard.

Perhaps the next time I am in the Rock Bay area, I will find more murals to intrigue me, in this relatively small, semi-industrial area. There are many more "concrete canvasses" available for potential art!