COVID still haunts New York City, but the social and political artist TIMUR is combating the spirits.
TIMUR was born in Uzbekistan while it was still a USSR republic. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in the ’90s, his family saw the writing on the Kremlin wall and decided to permanently emigrate to the United States. “I was already in my mid-teens when we arrived in New York City,” TIMUR told me. “I knew since early childhood that art—in any capacity—was the only way for me to truly make something productive of myself.” He applied and was accepted into LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Deciding to pursue graphic and commercial art, he attended college at the School of Visual Arts, graduating with an advertising degree.
During his years in advertising he never stopped actively making art for himself, exhibiting it, participating in competitions, forming friendships with serious artists and art supporters. “I essentially had two parallel careers, where one was fueling the other,” he said. This trajectory continued until 2020—the year the world was largely put to a halt, including his own employment in the advertising industry.
He used this time, as many other artists and designers we’ve interviewed at PRINT did, to make art that reflected the feelings of the times. TIMUR is currently showing his subsequent Spreading Love exhibit at the Hudson Park Branch of the New York Public Library until July 5. We spoke about what he did, and why it matters.
What prompted the viral Spreading Love campaign?
It happened by accident. I was still employed at the agency when the pandemic hit NYC. It’s a distant memory for many now, but it’s important to remember just how shocking, confusing and scary the first several weeks were. There were constant reports on deaths, strict public safety guidelines enforcement, which were being updated daily, as we learned more about the virus and ways to protect from it. Many people were suddenly out of work indefinitely, relationships were being put to test, and it was an emotionally daunting time. All of that heaviness in the air prompted me to make several posters, each one was addressing a different tier of public health concerns—one was echoing the social distancing and staying home messaging, and the other was trying to encourage kindness towards others. I printed several of them and posted them out on the street, and also on my social media. When I lost my job in May, the George Floyd tragedy happened shortly after, which spun the country into violent turmoil. I could not sit home, and started photographing the experience and energy in the city.
One early weekend morning I was in SoHo, capturing the walls of plywood covering storefronts, when I stumbled upon a group of artists and local volunteers who formed an ad hoc group, Art2Heart. Their mission was to bring peace, optimism, love and art back into the community by painting murals on plywood-covered storefronts. Anyone who wanted to participate was welcomed, with the materials and food that they made available for free. I spent the entire day photographing their activity. By the end of the day I was so moved by what I saw that I picked up a brush and did my first-ever mural painting right there on the street. This is how the seed of the Spreading Love project was planted, and my accidental entry into the world of street art happened. I joined the group and painted with them while also documenting the work around me. The group eventually concluded their mission after a month, and with the neighborhood eagerly reopening stores back to business, it was time to move on. Except I didn’t want to stop. I was now filled with my own sense of purpose and I felt that the effects of the pandemic were still present everywhere. I had a big stencil made from my poster graphic and went out solo, making it my mission to spread the love symbol all over the city, while documenting the journey and the process.
How far have you taken it geographically?
The painting is currently contained to New York City, however there was an interesting development in the early days. In the spring of 2020, there was a global design competition announced to create work on the subject of the pandemic, where I sent my designs to. The design with the heart, encouraging kindness, was spotted by one of their partners, who turned out to be an art buyer for Levi’s’ India and Middle East markets. At the time they were creating a capsule collection of shirts with positive and inspiring messaging during COVID, and my design, along with six others, was produced and sold there for a limited time. Even though I personally never took this work outside of NYC, the design crossed to the other side of the world without me setting foot there. But of course, I would be thrilled to take this project beyond the city if there was support for that. Because this work is self-initiated and self-produced, it limits my reach, unfortunately.
Did you have any conceptual concerns using the COVID symbol with the heart?
Not at all. The symbol was created for a very specific time in our history and it was the purely reactive answer to what was going on. I had a thing for hearts for many years for some reason; I can’t explain it. I just instinctively like the heart shape and the aura surrounding it—love, energy, passion, vitality, courage, among many more. It’s a very potent and versatile symbol. Perhaps the best symbol humanity has ever come up with, in my view.
Would you argue that the symbol could be misread or not?
I’ve had people say it reminded them of folk Eastern European motifs, before they recognized the “viral” element in it. And I’ve also had people immediately get the concept—with one gentleman even amusingly yelling out on the street: “It’s a love virus!” Whether people get the idea right away or never is less important, since the bigger message is about the endless perpetuation of love. While the symbol was born out of the health crisis, it will continue existing and adapting to our current world, with no shortage of problems that the positive imagery can help us deal with.
What’s next?
Keep making art, building connections and collaborations with like-minded people. Creativity is at the core of my life, but it’s not an easy life. In many ways it’s a sacrifice, where the outside support and understanding is vital, but it’s not always there. I do have aspirational plans in regards to this symbol, by turning it into a public space of human interaction and contemplation. I have photographed a lot of material on this journey that I would love to turn into a book, as well. And I recently met a wonderful filmmaker who volunteered to help me edit hours of footage that was captured in the first few years of this project into a short documentary film. I am very excited about it, and grateful to her and the team of videographers who shared this vision and followed me on my painting missions, often in the cold, with masks on and all. Love spreads on!
