This was the WHITE RABBIT Street Art Festival in Hartberg 2024
Hartberg once again invited international muralists to leave their mark in the heart of picturesque Styria. The WHITE RABBIT Street Art Festival, curated by Nychos, took place in the town from the 10th to the 16th of June 2024. Apart from Nychos, the festival had a top-class line-up including Lauren YS (US), Smithe (MEX), DXTR (DE), Onur (CHE), Roids (UK), Seher (MEX), and Treazy & Sydney (AUS).
The WHITE RABBIT Street Art Festival Hartberg offered the opportunity to look over the artists’ shoulders during production and experience the creation of the murals up close. Guided tours were also offered to provide a deeper insight into the world of street art.
NYCHOS – “Steirischer Panther“
NYCHOS is the founder of Rabbit Eye Movement, initiator and curator of the WHITE RABBIT Street Art Festival, co-founder of THE WEIRD and member of the LORDS Crew. He currently lives and works in Vienna and Los Angeles.
In his mural “Styrian Panther”, Nychos artistically dedicates himself to his homeland and incorporates the Styrian coat of arms in his characteristic translucent style. In doing so, he not only focuses on Styria, but in particular on his home town of Hartberg, which dates back to Roman times. Working on the regional coat of arms is a project that the artist has wanted to realize for a long time and that he has now finally implemented. He skillfully stages the Roman history of Styria around the regional coat of arms at the Hartberg police station.
DXTR – “The Burrow”
Berlin resident, painter and founding member of THE WEIRD artists collective, DXTR has been a staple in the art and illustration scene for a very long time. His dense and stylised personal work dances from walls to canvas and beyond while commercially his illustration client list is about as vast as impressive as one could imagine.
“The Burrow is a rich tapestry of metaphors and symbolism based on the 1865 novel “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. In summary it’s a rich allegory that delves into the themes of identity, the absurdity of societal norms, the fluidity of reality and the power of imagination. All framed within the context of the extraordinary adventure called life.”
LAUREN YS – “Gruss Vom Krampus“
Lauren YS is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work is influenced by multiple stages of focus, both geographically and in practice. Carrying a B.A. in English and Fine Art from Stanford University, Lauren applies their dynamic bouts in academics, literature, illustration, comics and animation to their role the urban art sphere as a queer Asian-American femme with a deep passion for visual storytelling. Lauren’s vision encapsulates the lifetime search for identity and self-hood, a love of local myth, and the constant pursuit of promoting anti-racism and just futures.
“Ever since i have known @nychos he has been telling me about the winter celebrations in his hometown of Hartberg, where they still observe Krampusnacht, a pagan winter ritual centered around the legend of the Krampus. This piece aims to capture the dichotomy between good and evil, light and dark evident in this ancient celebration, and the enduring power of folklore in the alpine region.”
ONUR – “White Rabbit”
Known for his detailed large-scale murals worldwide, ONUR’s art radiates from afar and addresses environmental and climate crises. Originally from Switzerland with Turkish roots, he began in theater painting before moving to Berlin as a freelance artist. ONUR’s work reflects his ongoing search, emphasizing the journey over the destination.
“My mural „White Rabbit“ from Alice in Wonderland is captured mid-leap, diving headfirst into a swirling, mysterious rabbit hole. The background is filled with abstract silhouettes of a landscape and sheep’s, lazily grazing and oblivious to the world around them. These sheep represent the complacency of those who shy away from change, content in their inertia. The contrast between the dynamic rabbit and the static sheep emphasizes the courage required to embark on new journeys and embrace transformation.”
WILLS – “its all You”
Will Gates (Roids) is a British visual artist who engages in a range of creative practices informed by his graffiti background. Among them painting, analog typographic design, mural painting, and sculpture. Known for his innovation and influence within the conventions of graffiti, Gates’s work is constantly evolving. A measure of graffiti’s inherent competitiveness and his own unique investigation into the Stylization and abstraction of Lettering.
“This piece feeds off a series of abstract studio works I made in 2021, exploring repetition and the use of dimensional forms to create a kind of mandala of geometric vocabulary. An explosion of information that is representative of new ideas and moments of clarity as the elements expand and interact out from the central focal point in an organised and rhythmic fashion.”
SEHER – “El Aguila de Paz”
David Piñon a.k.a “Seher One” is a Mexican graphic artist. He comes from an Oaxacan family with studies at the National School of Plastic Arts. Seher draws on influences rooted in the culture of the nineties: the aesthetics of the streets, skateboarding, musical movements, influences of pop art and psychedelia. It connects different graphic disciplines ranging from graffiti, traditional painting to the Mexican mural movement the current pillar of his work.
“A big eagle that represents my Mexican culture, my roots and a nod to world peace. A peace that the world needs for the love of humans themselves. It is accompanied by a vase of flowers dedicated to all those people who lost their lives in the middle of a war without quarter, without politics or flag and were never able to take a particular side. In the center of the vase the green heart of “Steiermark” that symbolizes the beauty of such a beautiful place full of tranquility and green color, a beautiful place to paint and enjoy life.”
SMITHE ONE – “Hungry Are We”
Influenced by old local comics, graphic style from the 50s and Sci-Fi movies, at the age of 13 he begins to paint graffiti just for fun and as a hobby. Autodidactic and evolutionary, attracted by fine arts, Mexican Artist Smithe has constantly reinvented his own style and over the past years has tried out with many themes on his work such as Existentialism, Individuality of the human being and the machine within. The defragmentation, common symbol on his work, is used as a vehicle to show the inside elements that power his characters and is shown as a surrealistic machine.
“There are times when we think that we have limitations and that somehow our capabilities are few. The search for new challenges and creating scenarios for our benefit as humans is what makes us different. The hunger to want to get ahead and do other things than we are used to, is what he portrayed on this wall. We are individuals of routines, until the moment we decide and a different idea comes to us, that thought is what leads us to change our attitudes and be in constant change.”
Treazy Treaz and Sydney Duarte – “The Spirit of Austrian Nature”
Treazy Treaz and Sydney Duarte are well known for their brightly colored artwork, art activism and positive spirits. They are commissioned to create murals and large-scale art installations around the World. Transforming and activating cities and communities with color and love. Their work harnesses the power of art and creativity to make a positive impact while raising awareness and unifying the collective to empower positive change.
“Our inspiration and intention was to spark a sense of wonder, awe and discovery through the engagement of color and creation. Evoking a sense of excitement and celebration while welcoming visitors to the space and inviting them to connect with the town as they gain a new perspective of nature to see endless positive possibilities for the future ahead of them. The natural elements of plants and animals are native to Hartberg/Austria, and are to remind us that it is our role in the present moment to preserve Nature so we can have a prosperous future.”
The Street Art Festival was organised by the Rabbit Eye Movement and the City of Hartberg. The large-scale project was supported by the Land Steiermark, Steiermark Tourismus und Standortmarketing GmbH and the Tourismusverband. More information about the participating artists, venues and events can be found on the website: www.oststeiermark.com.
