Moscow is the city where street art artist Pasha 183 was born, lived and died, called The Guardian by the Russian Banksy. After his death, Banksy himself dedicated one of his works to him - he painted a burning flame over a spray can. The title of the article is comprehensive, therefore, in the material we will study in detail the biography, works and cause of death of Pasha 183.
And they say that manuscripts do not burn ...
In Moscow, on the walls of houses some of Pasha’s 183 works were preserved. Many of them were washed away, but not by time, but by people's hands. So, one of his works - "Fallen Angel" - is painted over with whitewash. Indifferent residents updated it all the time, but this was of little interest to the utilities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg, where Pavel liked to draw his installations. He is already gone, and that little memory that could have remained is painted over ...
And there are many such whitewashed walls in Moscow where there were graffiti of street artist Pasha 183. And this is surprising because Pavel was a recognized master, had official orders for graffiti, participated in many exhibitions abroad. However, his real, sincere works were destroyed, graffiti of Pasha 183 remained only in the photo of lovers.
Who is Pasha 183?
Pavel Pukhov was born in Moscow on August 11, 1983. Pasha 183 or P183 is his pseudonym under which he worked. There were dreams, plans, projects, but on the night of April 1 to 2, 2013, the death of Pasha 183 crossed out everything. He did not live to be thirty or four months ...
I started drawing at the age of fourteen. The song "Blood type", heard near the wall of Tsoi, on Old Arbat, pushed him to the fact that you need not just to draw, but to communicate with people through their graffiti works.
Pavel studied at the Institute of Design, after graduation he received a diploma with the specialty "communicative design" indicated in it . He worked as a designer, artist, restorer, but preferred street art of the 90s most of all, making installations of this era on the walls of houses and industrial facilities, garbage bins, courtyards, bridges. According to him, he was a man who sought to show people the world in which they lived and survived ... All the graffiti that Pasha 183 made in the city, were, one way or another, illustrations for the songs. There were many, but the domestic press did not notice the artist.
The credo of street art artist
Paul had rules that he never changed: not to draw on monuments and places of worship, not to affect specific people in his works.
Pavel continued to draw graffiti, however, in 2011 there was no such range of tools that appeared in the next 2012. There were no proposals for cooperation or joint projects. Paul became famous after his work appeared on the Internet. He was approached by such world-famous publications as The Guardian, Daily mail and Telegraph, asking for an interview, which resulted in articles about a unique graffiti artist, and The Guardian called him "Russian Banksy".
Pasha 183 for 2012 made many installations, participated in exhibitions, but too little time was left to do what he intended. Until 2012, Pasha 183 did not expect that there would be so many works.
Some rethinking
In one of the interviews, Pavel shared that another vision appeared, began to feel his environment differently, he began to see moments that he had not previously seen much more sharply. In general, something really ingenious is created once every six years, some accumulative process contributes to this. There was too much material in the work, which was somewhere in a black box, and at one point it broke through, some opportunities appeared, thanks to which the implementation of projects began.
When asked about how much the media helped in the implementation of projects and the promotion of his work, he said that he sees nothing good in this. On the one hand, they began to recognize, and popularity began to appear, and on the other hand, peace was more precious to him. It works better when the questions are not distracted by the camera. The creation of the picture Pasha 183 considers quite an intimate process.
In 2011, Pavel paints a picture in which the main motive is to leave the comfort zone. "Bridge Arsonists - Dedication." Here is his commentary on his work:
It is unlikely that any of us now, having achieved success, connections, money, fame, is able to abandon all this. Burn down bridges and destroy all your achievements for the sake of a new, unknown, perhaps reckless and illogical life or death. This installation is dedicated to those who went beyond their own dusty nooks and created a new world. Those who are able to deny themselves for a step forward.
Exhibition in France
In the first two months of 2013, in France, in the city of Le-Kremlin-Bicetre, an exhibition of Pasha 183's works was held. New works, experimental ones, differing from what he had done before, were presented. Each work is a "dream of something more." It was prepared very carefully, since in France a completely different way of thinking, people see differently and react differently to everything that happens, to any thing. And it was important for Paul to understand what he was worth, that is, what his work was worth. Not how much they cost, but what they cost. How will people respond to this work?
A serious experiment. It is gratifying that the opportunity has appeared to interact with the West European public. There are lively, interesting people who are not spoiled by life.
Paul believed that any exhibition is like a tuning fork. If there is a positive resonance, you understand that I did a really interesting thing here. There are things that others do not like, but only the author likes. And he does not think that they are bad. But for yourself it is important to understand what you did well and what is bad.
The work of Pasha 183 in 2005-2010.
After the exhibition, Pavel was asked what kind of work he would have presented if he had been invited five years ago. He replied that, making an exhibition five years ago, he would have offered the public attention other graffiti, much meaner, much more serious and tougher .. Now, because of his age, I want to create in a positive direction, without manic aggression, to use new forms in creativity, as the vision has changed. After all, it’s all for the better, it’s very difficult to do negativity.
In 2005, he painted exclusively negative things in which aggression was seen. Looking at these canvases over the years, Pasha said that he becomes ill from their mere contemplation. Over these creations, he sat for half a month, looking for not even an image, but an atmosphere. To draw a canvas, one had to get angry, that is, enter a state of conscious psychosis and only after that start the process. And only in this state will it be possible to make a strong, aggressive canvas.
The sad news
April 2, 2013 the world flew around the message - Pasha 183 was gone. Just a wicked joke when like this, on takeoff.
Everything has just begun, ahead - exhibitions, offers, the transition to work with galleries. Everyone was at a loss: what is the cause of the death of Pasha 183, the Russian Banksy? It was simply impossible to believe in it. According to one version, which is denied by friends of Paul, he was poisoned. Another suggestion is a sudden heart attack. The version of violent death was refuted.
Hard to believe, because he was a strong guy. But he worked hard, but slept little. Be that as it may, the cause of Pasha's death 183 - neither one nor the other - was not accepted by his fans. The fact that there is something unsaid here, there were assumptions on the Web and in the media.
Pavel’s friends recalled that he seemed in a hurry, afraid to lose precious time. Speaking of time. This was his key topic, which is devoted to many works.
Paul's reasoning about life
“Reality is not always positive,” said Pasha 183, “but it is what we all do. I used to think that everything around is bad and we live in shit. There are people who continue to think this way now.”
And after all, Pasha says that he was also moving in this direction. And his protests, his attitude to reality were connected with the fact that he saw only negative in any things. At this time, the reason for the death of Pasha 183 would have been clear - the death from life due to bifurcation in the soul. But no, in those years this did not happen ...
After a while, Paul realized that things can be viewed from different angles. In a recent interview, he shared his thoughts. "Negative, he will come out, but if you can philosophize and evaluate the subject from different angles, you want to make a positive. Although life does not change, but the vector you are moving is changing, you understand why life is the one who is to blame. You look at it from different angles, something opens up and leads you, and pray to God, if only it would not end .... "