Kyi, Shchek, Khoriv and Their Sister Lybid 2020

Curator: Immediately striking, isn’t it? The vibrant figures feel both ancient and utterly contemporary. Editor: It has a real presence, almost like a dream emerging from the brickwork. There’s a haunting quality to the figures in that boat, this raw expression, juxtaposed against the anonymity of the city’s architecture. Curator: Indeed. This mixed-media mural, "Kyi, Shchek, Khoriv and Their Sister Lybid," was created by Kateryna Lysovenko in 2020. It reimagines the legend of Kyiv’s founders right on the streets. Editor: Street art. And this historical reframing brings a charge. Looking at this piece I can’t help but think of gender, and power, particularly in this moment. The figure of Lybid at the helm, the only female character depicted on the vessel, almost guiding the entire group... the original legend relegated her to the background. Lysovenko elevates her into something undeniably, symbolically powerful. Curator: Absolutely. The artist uses a visual vocabulary of archetypes, referencing the medieval tradition and pre-Christian Slavic paganism. Note the simple, almost iconic depiction of the figures—almost reminiscent of early byzantine frescoes. Each color seems to embody its own elemental power and emotional energy. The boat too evokes imagery we may know from mythology - a symbolic vessel carrying them to found a new civilization. Editor: Yes, the mural as a vessel. So much street art serves to revitalize, and bring focus back to aspects of local life... It becomes more important than ever to recognize works that bring us back in touch with our stories, but now with this reframed consciousness. In the West’s popular imagination of what is a historically and culturally important image, this image pushes that. Curator: It’s a beautiful intervention into the narrative fabric of Kyiv. Lysovenko understands these figures are not just historical, but symbolic carriers of cultural identity and a national mythology. Editor: These powerful shapes have stayed with me long after seeing them. It really feels like a vital act of reclaiming and empowering the cultural narrative. A kind of rewriting of what stories matter, who gets to tell them, and in what visual language. Curator: It’s a forceful piece and an elegant articulation of history in an urban space, reminding us how potent visual symbols can be in carrying cultural memory through time.