Artistic name WAONE, came from a real name Vladimir, popular in slavic contries, and it is a short friendly version as well. «Вован» (sounds like [Vavan]) was popular in post soviet 90’s but written as Wa-One, which also referring to hip-hop aesthetics.
Aleksei Bordusov aka AEC and Vladimir Manzhos aka Waone, better known as Interesni Kazki, are a Ukrainian artist duo best known for their colorful surrealistic large scale murals. Famous for their unusual and imaginative imagery, the wide range of characters, elements and symbols used, bright colors and smooth gradients, their works are now grace walls from India to Mexico, and from Miami to Moscow. After painting around Europe and Russia in the summer, they went on a three month trip to Central America and the US, taking part in different projects and creating more impressive public works.
Vladimir was born in 1981 near Kyiv. His father was an art lover and a collector of local art and rare orthodox icons. Their home was full of art books and soviet magazines with perfect hand painted illustrations. Vladimir interested in art for the first time in early childhood when he was 4-5 y.o.
The art career of Vladimir Manzhos more known as Waone, begun in 1999. Few years after he has been painting graffiti a s a member of Ingenious Kids crew in Kyiv. In 2003 he got bored of letters and together with Aec went to the next level of public art – visual storytelling. They have been painting big surreal murals with fantasticstories. They developed their unique style of contemporarymuralism with extraordinary ephemeral form of monumental art.
In 2005 Waone and Aec established an artist duo – Interesni Kazki, which means «Interesting fairy tales» in ukrainian. Their murals are full of fairy characters, fine details, smooth gradients, symbols and stories. Next 10 years duo travel a lot. Inspiring by local cultures and traditions they paint murals expressing local flavor. Now their bright surreal paintings decorate the walls from Australia to Mexico and from San Francisco to Moscow.
The main goal of my art is to find out who am i and explore the outside world. Viewing through the lens of the creative process gives me posibility to shift the focus away from the vanity of common life and tap into stranger invisible world, the origin of the entire existence…
It was a long way started back in 1999, when i stepped on the streets with a spray can. During next 18 years i developed a fairy tale visual language, a visual story telling with transcendental ethereal form of contemporary muralism.
Inspired by the old masters art i continue my evolution, i like to imitate the esthetic of antique book illustrations and old engravings in my murals, canvases and drawings.
Waone’s Website and his Instagram | More Surreal Art on Art Ctrl Del
