Site Specific Street Art with the audience in mind

Cultural Murals and Street Art










Footnotes in the City – Durban Street Art Documentary.
Footnotes in the City is a documentary style video piece which is the culmination of the practical component of my master’s study in fine art at the Durban University of technology. The title of my study is: Street Art and Mural Art as Visual Activism in Durban: 2014 – 2017. The film is shot by the intrepid Durban photographer and film- maker Samora Chapman.
The film serves the purpose of documenting and presenting activist or critical street art and mural art in Durban from 2014 – 2017 and asks the question; what is the function of this art form. The film explores the opinions of: experts within the films area of interest, practicing street and mural artists and selected members of the public. The film presents street art and mural art as an effective and pragmatic cultural response to social, political and environmental climate of post – apartheid Durban. This kind of critical cultural expression is ephemeral due to the ever changing and competitive nature of the public space, which makes this documentation very important as the only lasting evidence.
Cultural and Commercial Murals
Creative Blocks – For Spier Arts Trust
mannequin 1, 18cmx18cm, pen and ink mannequin 2, 20×30, pen and ink mannequin3, 20×30, pen and ink
About Me

Mook Lion has just completed his Masters in fine art at the Durban University of Technology. He investigated street art and mural art as visual activism in Durban: 2014-2017. His practice based research aimed at producing site specific and socially conscious artwork in the public domain. Theoretical and historical research as well as primary information gathered through interviews with members of the public, informs his art practice.
Mook Lion became invested in this form of cultural expression through participating in Hip Hop culture in Durban from the mid- 2000s focusing on graffiti. Through this culture he developed an interest in exploring and actively participating in Durban, his city of residence. He was charged for malicious damage to property on two occasions as a result of this active often unsanctioned use of public space through graffiti. Through institutional education at Durban University of technology he began attempting to combine academic fine art and graffiti which lead him to this area of interest. Currently, he often works collaboratively with experienced artists and community members, aiming to make art which performs a social and cultural function by beautifying or repurposing wasted space and communicating with the public around social injustices and the importance of nature preservation.
Why do you do what you do? How did you get started in your field?
What have you done so far? What were the major milestones in your career?
What do you do after work? What are your passions and hobbies? What do you most enjoy talking about?
Clients





