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Eyebombing across urban environment

БНР Новини

If you happen to notice that a street tile or some outfall is looking at you while walking around the city, don’t jump back. Simply face the fact that you have just become another victim of Eyebombing and carry on with this merry mood through the day. Sticking of plastic eyes on urban elements has become the new type of art which has been taking over the streets and people’s hearts. Vanyu Krastev is the Bulgarian, who is always “armed” with pockets full of plastic eyes, just looking for inspiration. The man has his experience as a journalist in the IT sphere and right now he works as a video engineer. Photography and text writing are his hobbies, alongside Eyebombing.

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How did it all start?

“I got into it maybe two years ago,” Vanyu says. “I came upon the initiative of two Danes who had decided to argue the lines of the objects around by sticking small plastic eyes with pupils with the purpose of Eyebombing. They wanted to bring in life, to recreate an image, an emotion and temper. The idea is the people passing by to smile. I found plastic eyes later on and I started sticking those too. I liked it and so I decided to do Eyebombing often, sharing the art with people around. I use the eyes mostly in Sofia, where I live and work, but my pockets are full wherever I go.”

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What are the emotions that Vanyu puts into his street art?

“I try to make those in a hurry smile at least for a while. People tend to lose their reason to live lately. We live so fast that whenever we are heading somewhere and we spot such eyes, it means things are not so bad yet and we still have the ability to catch tiny moments within the urban environment. I think we are in a terrible hurry, terribly nervous and moving around the world with a negative attitude, not positive. My idea is more people to join this street art form, if possible. Thus we can become something like a community, sharing more ideas.”

Photos with the art of Vanyu published on one of the largest foreign websites for fun photos has become a hit across social networks. The post has been visited by over 29,000 people from the entire world so far and the comments are really positive.

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Here is what Vanyu wishes to those who would opt for his path in street Eyebombing:

“The idea is people to have fun, to look for forms, developing their associative thinking. When one has that strive for creativity and the need to do it, my piece of advice is: follow your heart, grow that need, take good care of it… Then it will develop and bring inner satisfaction. And another piece of advice: don’t stick eyes wherever there are ones already.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

Photos: courtesy of Vanyu Krastev


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