Magical artwork pure ‘Genie’us
Local artists pay tribute to Robin Williams with uMhlanga M4 tribute wall.
LAST week Hollywood and the world lost one of its enduring lights; a venerable actor and a brilliant comedian. Robin Williams died aged 63 as a result of an apparent suicide but his inspiration and memory will live on forever in the thousands of lives he touched. None more so than artists Dustin Scott and Warrick Shannon from Urbanloveza who created a tribute wall on Egret Lane on the M4 underpass in honour and remembrance of Williams. The artists are also responsible for the urban giraffe on Lagoon Drive.
After five hours of work the Genie from Aladdin was born and will now remain a permanent fixture of the uMhlanga community. Urbanloveza’s message is simple, in memory of Robin Williams, who made us all laugh. The artwork shows a smiling Genie pouring his magic into a little tree next to the bridge.
“Aladdin was the first movie I watched at the cinema and it is one of my favourite movies. Robin brought the genie to life and made millions of people bowl over with laughter. He has been one of my biggest inspirations growing up, his comic genius and his creativity were characteristics I wanted to embody.
“The artwork is also a metaphor of him pouring out his heart to the world and making them laugh. In the same way we hope our tribute will make people smile on their way to work. It’s about celebrating what he did for the world,” Dustin said.
The duo used the technique of dust tagging or reverse graffiti (method of creating images on walls or other surfaces by removing dirt from a surface) to create the masterpiece.
Warrick Shannon explained how they came up with the idea of using that wall.
“Whenever we drive around we look for walls that suit what we want and when we spotted this bridge we thought, it was an awesome opportunity to pay tribute to Robin Williams.
“We planned on using the wall on the other side of the underpass but we didn’t have a ladder long enough,” he laughed. “But we always had the idea of him (Genie) pouring his magic into something and the little tree worked out quite well.”
For more on Urbanloveza visit their facebook page or follow them on twitter @urbanloveza.
