The Impact of Discovery

The Impact of Discovery, painted on the multi‑surface façade of the Cultural Arts Centre at Ukraine’s largest science and technical university, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI). Created in 2016 as part of the Mural Social Club international urban art festival, the work engages with both scientific imagery and historic photographic processes. Reflecting on two breakthroughs of the modern era: particle physics and early motion photography. The mural depicts colliding hydrogen protons,  experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, referencing humanity’s pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the structure of the universe. Overlaid onto this energetic visual field is imagery informed by Etienne‑Jules Marey’s pioneering chronophotography, a technique that captured successive stages of movement on a single photographic plate and laid the groundwork for the development of cinema. 

The mirrored figure of a runner becomes both a symbol of particles in motion and a metaphor for human progress, linking scientific inquiry to broader cultural forces. The piece also carries a deeper resonance in its Ukrainian context, suggesting that discovery can emerge through struggle and transformation.

Acrylic on concrete

2016

Photo Credit: Maksim Belousov + Artist

Produced by: Sky Art Foundation and Mural Social Club. A special thanks to Oleg Sosnov