interview (eng)

1) Who's behind EikonprOJeKt?
MR.KLEVRA: There are 3 “brilliant” minds behind it: Jessica Stewart, an American photographer who loves Rome, perhaps more than many born and bred Romans. Omino71, the guru of the trio, "Bicentennial Man" of street art, without him nothing would be possible. Finally there's me, Mr.Klevra ... I love Byzantine iconography and this project was born from
this common interest with Omino71, me in my way and he in another.
JESSICA STEWART: We are 3 creative people contributing to this project each with our own style, technique, etc. To get specific there's Omino71 — lover of Pop Art and any “thing” colorful, inspired by Keith Haring, has an incredible energy and creativity, is a volcano of ideas and he's always pushing us to go further with the project. Then there's Mr.Klevra — a ridiculously talented artist who manages to whip out amazing drawings in minutes, has an insane imagination, which shines through in all his works and is an expert in Byzantine iconography. Finally, there's me, Jessica Stewart, art lovers since I can remember and am always with my camera in hand to capture images of Rome, its culture, its people, its art and anything that is in my adopted hometown, in order to share with others my vision of the capital.
OMINO71: Three artists working together on a project each with an identity independent of the individuality that compose it, without giving up the prerogatives that characterize the work and intentions of each. For the rest, they've already said everything, but I would say a look to our sites to see our own work is worth a thousand words.

2) Before EikonprOJeKT, Omino71 and Mr. Klevra, you started with EIKONtheSTREET. Can you explain what that is?
MR.KLEVRA: It's a street art project by a pair of artists (me and Omino71) fusing together two ways of doing and seeing something totally differently. My goal is the improvement and reinterpretation of sacred art through a modern view, never boring, nor equal, nor vulgar. With our posters installed in the street (all uniquely hand-painted) I would like to continue and renew a tradition that can be seen via the many small shrines and altars that one finds in the streets of central Rome.
OMINO71: EIKONtheSTREET is a partnership with Mr.Klevra, with whom I reinterpret Byzantine iconography through installations on the street via stickers, posters and painting walls. We "clashed" during a couple of the group exhibitions where we both showed, completely unaware of the other, some reinterpreted Byzantine icons in our respective genres (me neo pop, with saturated colors and essential signs, and he Neo-classical, all shaded and rich in detail) and on "alternative" recycled supports (me on vinyl, he on skate boards). Both of us had the desire to bring Byzantine iconography to the street (although driven by different motivations) and we decided to do so with our first collaboration work, a reinterpretation of the Virgin and
Child. From this original idea, which has taken form both in Italy and abroad, and has participated in collective exhibitions and live painting performances, several partnerships and initiatives were created, including URBANandORBI (a project of "creative recycling" based on transforming everyday discarded objects into unique pieces of Urban Art, with which we participated in the group exhibition "Art Festival" at Mondo Pop Gallery in Rome, EIKONtheWALL (a proposed redevelopment of urban areas through interventions art of painting walls, like the recent
intervention of Mr.Klevra in Ostia, and EikonprOJeKt.

3) So how did EikonprOJeKt start?
JESSICA STEWART: EikonprOJeKt is kind of like EIKONtheSTREET's oldest son, started with the aim of creating a new relationship between photography and street art. It started by chance, from a simple photo reportage that I did during one of Omino71 and Mr. Klevra's first installations. When printing photos I came up with the idea of reworking and "posterizing" the images, transforming them into new subjects for new posters, which once re-painting by the artists could be installed on the street, only to be re-photographed and then on goes the never ending cycle. In short, EikonprOJeKt is a different way to spread the street art using photography. The connection between photography and street art has always been there, since street art, being an ephemeral art form, needs to be documented We've gone a step further with this project by blending these two worlds and connecting them to the point that it would be impossible for one to exist without the other: you can't paint the posters without the photo and you can't take the picture without the poster. Being a collective project, each of us has contributed with our own talent, vision, and unique style — the colorful Pop of Omino71, the painterly technique of Mr. Klevra, and my photographic compositions.

4) Throughout your answers, there are a few common threads that come up often — Byzantine iconography, street art, Rome, the street. What do these mean to you?
JESSICA STEWART: That's a lot so I'll answer one at a time: Rome - Without going into a long story about my road to Italy, I'll just say that I've been studying Italian art since I was 15 years old. Then I started learning more about the culture and language and when I decided to leave the US for Italy, the only city I ever considered was Rome. So Rome represents my choice and my new home, which is a good choice even if it's
sometimes frustrating and I try to convey both sides in my photography.
The street – The street is the best place to know Rome. I learned how true this was when I started my blog and would walk the city for hours, always finding something new to see – whether it be a famous monument or a little detail. Street art - Although I always studied art, I was never interested in contemporary art and I didn't know anything about the underground art scene here. Then, through my photography, I started noticing more stencils and posters until last February I was in San Lorenzo photographing and couldn't help but be struck by the talent of the artists I saw in the street. From moment, I started photographing more stuff and learned more, even getting to meet some of the artists themselves. I study street art just like I studied the art of Raphael, Bernini, etc — except now I get the chance to interact with the artists. Byzantine iconography – Since I love Renaissance art, I'm always drawn to street art that borrows from the classical, so I was happy when the opportunity arose to document EIKONtheSTREET. I was also curious to see how the public would react and whether posters with religious content in some way could be more appreciated or tolerated than other street art installations. After all, we live in the home of the Pope and we are surrounded by sacred public images, especially the Madonna, so what would be the reaction to an icon created on a poster? In a more general sense I've also always loved the use of iconography and symbolism in art, so all these things combined make me happy to participate in the project.
OMINO71: I'll respond by mixing a bit of everything. On the "aesthetic" choice, Byzantine icons have a special meaning for me because my work avoids all forms of realism and therefore the Byzantine icon suits me well, as it's another art form that rejects realism and perspective (or rather, seeks volume in other ways than perspective in two dimensions). More and more these characteristics are part of the trend with the younger generation of artists, who are basing their techniques on pre Renaissance paintings (icons, two-dimensionality, grotesques, unrealistic colors, etc). Then, as a street artist and a Roman, having at heart the honor of my city in mind, I'm always looking to create street art that connects to the urban fabric of the city. For me, making icons on posters fits into this, since the religious subject fits perfectly in the streets and squares of Rome. It speaks to the city and isn't as quickly dismissed as other types of installations. Lastly, as an artist (said with humility), I felt the need to tackle religious art regardless of personal beliefs or faith because in the past, all Roman artists received commissions from popes, members of the clergy, nobles, etc. In doing so they left their indelible mark on the history of art and the city. I considered it something that I had to do, in my own way, by trying ton contextualize and reinterpret these subjects within my style.
MR.KLEVRA: For me the icon is the perfect balance between art and message. The Byzantine icon was established to bring the Bible to the illiterate, so one could “read” an entire biblical passage observing a single image. Nowadays the street then is the first place where artists try to catch the eye of the everyday viewer, usually closed off to new aesthetic stimulation, so that they can be exposed to different ideas of beauty.
5) Lastly, tell us a bit about how EikonprOJeKt started and how the process works.
JESSICA STEWART: I first met Mr.Klevra while photographing a live painting performance and, by chance, I photographed one of Omino71's icons on the street. Then they invited me to document their first public installation, which I mentioned before, and participate in a group exhibition organized by StickMyWorld. It was for that exhibition that I printed a black and white poster depicting one of their posters hanging in the sun in a courtyard Garbatella, but I couldn't use it due to rain and so I told them to keep it and paint it. It ended up coming out so well that we decided paste it up and EikonprOJeKt was born. Ever since I photograph them whenever they go out to paste up their posters and from those photos I chose the one that I like best and which gives an idea of the urban context where the poster was attached. I work with the image in Photoshop to give it more graphic style and create the black and white image for the new poster. The newly created image gets printed out with a plotter, repainted by them, and hung back out on the street in a different urban setting, which I also photograph, starting the whole cycle over again. So we end up with a poster made from a picture of another poster, which is created from a picture of another poster….
MR.KLEVRA: Starting with a poster, always painted as a collaboration between Omino71 and I, the production is kind of a cycle in which the subject is always the same (a reinterpretation of the "Mother of Tenderness"), but each icon is slightly different from the previous. Then we go out to paste up on the street and Jessica follows with her camera during the entire process. The next step is printing up new posters made from the photos, sometimes showing us painting of pasting up. Then we paint this new poster and go out to paste it up and so on it goes. This process, repeated several times, generating a vertigo effect and then we wait for the viewers to do their homework and figure out the different places in Rome and the thread that ties them together in each piece.
OMINO71: Jessica and Mr. Klevra have been quite clear with our work process, so I won't repeat them. I'll just add that during the painting process it's always fun to add new details, not only to the main subject, but also to the urban context where the poster is pasted, like the road, the building and so on. It's kind of like when you scribble on photos in magazines (who hasn't' done that?). And we can invent a new world by transforming a building into a monster, its windows and doors become the eyes and mouth, or simply by adding an inscription on a wall or recoloring a pre-existing tag already, etc. Another fun thing is to paste a photo of a specific urban context in another urban setting, perhaps the same city, bringing a piece of Garbatella to Monti and then a piece of Monti with a piece of Garbatella in it to Testaccio, and then a piece of Testaccio with some Monti and Garbatella in it to Pigneto, and so on. One last story, I want to take the chance to answer a question we often get, “What do the words “only after disaster can we resurrect” and “hope” that often accompany our Madonna and Child mean?” First you've got to understand that each icon in EIKONtheSTREET is accompanied by a motto (for example, for the Embrace of St. Paul and St. Peter, we chose Caput Mundi,” as a way to honor the two patrons of Rome, while making a tribute to the city). For our first icon, the Madonna and Child, we didn't really have a clear idea for a motto, but since we were participating in an exhibit with a theme about “the end of the world,” Mr. Klevra pulled out a quote from "Fight Club" “only after disaster can we resurrect” It seemed to fit well, as it's testament that after the end of the world there is always hope for a resurrection, of a new life, etc. Then we added a "hope" in the garment of the Christ child which, besides being a tormentor of "street art" campaign thanks to the ubiquitous Shepard Fairey, is the real key to the reading of the icon: for believers because Jesus is the "savior,” while for everyone else- aside from questions of faith – he is still a child and therefore the future, tomorrow, the new life, a hopeful sign indeed.

Jessica Stewart is a Rome-based photographer and art historian. She relocated to Italy in 2005 to be surrounded by the Renaissance and Baroque art for which she is passionate. Her love of photography was developed during coursework at Boston University and honed through her blog—RomePhotoBlog, where she regularly posts images exploring contemporary living in Rome. Her keen sense of observation, honed through years of studying the compositions of the Old Masters, is also informed by her time living as a foreigner in Italy.


Omino71 is an anonymous Italian artist… or maybe he's just a poscapen fan.
He works with poscapens, mosaics, acrylic paintings, photography, spraycans, posters, stickers, stencils, and flyers.
He plays with rubikcubes, postpunk, arcade games, scooters, skateboards, comics, sneakers, b-movies, popart.


The pseudonym Mr.Klevra, derived from the Hebrew translation for rabid dog, is fitting considering that a bull terrier, with its oblong shaped head, is one of the recurring figures in his detailed artistic repertoire, which takes inspiration from both fantasy and street art. From the time he first remembers drawing, all self-taught, his style has ranged from futuristic illustrations to strict Byzantine iconography. Any surface will become a canvas in his hands, populated with strange figures, full of grace and yet with meticulous detail.