This is another installment of Poland’s promotional activities at the World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The mural in Białystok was designed by Japanese artist BAKIBAKI / Kohei Yamao.
We recently featured a Polish mural that was unveiled in Japan (read HERE). Now it is time for a similar action, but in Poland. The author of the new mural in Bialystok is Japanese artist Kohei Yamao, also known by his pseudonym BAKIBAKI. His work currently focuses on the design and realisation of murals, which are distinguished by the artist’s distinctive style.
I was inspired by the spiral logo of the Polish Pavilion at the Osaka Expo, and my distinctive design, which links the past to the future, metaphorically expresses the Polish motto ‘Poland. Heritage that drives the future’-says BAKIBAKI.
The mural in Bialystok depicts two abstract plants that intertwine and climb upwards like ivy. The plants are meant to symbolise the development of Poland and Japan and the cooperation between the countries. In designing the mural, the artist used his characteristic style, which is based on Japanese design motifs.
An interesting feature is the element of the logotype of the Polish Pavilion at Expo 2025, which on the one hand refers to the Pavilion’s architecture and is also meant to evoke the association of a spreading ‘wave of creativity’.
‘I hope that the people of Białystok will like this mural, and that it will become a permanent part of the city, as an auspicious symbol reminiscent of a Japanese dragon soaring into the sky, ‘ the artist adds.
The mural can be seen on the building of the Marshal’s Office of the Podlaskie Voivodeship in Białystok, 1 Kardynała Stefan Wyszyńskiego Street.
About the artist:
BAKIBAKI / Kohei Yamao was born in Osaka in 1978. He graduated from Kyoto University of Fine Arts. The guiding theme of his art is authorial geometric patterns combining references to the Japanese language, Japanese tradition and street culture. The artist’s distinctive pattern refers to ancient Japanese patterns and family crests as well as the repetition of futuristic forms found in Japanese manga and anime from the 1990s.
Currently, BAKIBAKI’s main focus is on creating large-scale murals in urban spaces, primarily Osaka. Since 2021, BAKIBAKIKI has been working on the ‘Yodokabe’ project in the Yohohama district of Osaka, contributing to the revitalisation of the city in preparation for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai and the popularisation of street culture in Japan. In addition to murals, the artist works as a painter and conducts art workshops.
source: PAIH
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