A LATVIAN artist, who’s work can be found in a number of European locations, has been revealed as the person responsible for the two giant pirate murals that have recently appeared on an iconic landmark, on the North Wales Coastline.
The two pirate-like characters seemed to appear overnight, earlier this month, on the side of The Fun Ship, formally The Duke Of Lancaster, which has become a well-known landmark in Llanerch-y-Mor, near Mostyn. It has now been confirmed that they are the work of KIWIE, a street artist from Latvia.
The artwork appears to be orchestrated by a group calling themselves Dudug, who have set up a website reporting on the works. Shortly after the murals appeared on the 17th August, a You Tube video was posted on their site.
The video depicts the work being done illegally at night; however a new video has since been added to the website, revealing the original version to be a spoof. The intricate artworks did in fact take a number of days to complete, and was done under the watchful supervision of site security, which remains 24 x 7 at The Duke.
The painted characters, also known by the term KIWIES, are each 9 metres in height making them the biggest works ever created by the artist. They also include some key details about the Duke’s history in their design – with the year the ship was built (1956) on the blue pirate’s ear, and the year the ship was docked in Llanerch-y-Mor (10th Aug 1979) on its stomach.
Members of the Duke of Lancaster Appreciation Society (DOLAS) have been so far unable to shed any light on the appearance of the artwork but it appears none of them had any idea the cruise liner was going to be targeted by the street artist. It can also be confirmed that DOLAS and DUDUG operate completely separate from one another.
BLACK DUKE from KIWIE on Vimeo.