DAKU quotes shakespeare in his new shadow mural located in las vegas

india’s most prominent anonymous street artist, DAKU, collaborates with justkids to present the latest addition to his ‘time changes everything’ series in downtown las vegas for the ‘life is beautiful festival’ 2019. encompassing six other mural artists — ernest zacharevic, HOTTEA, zosen & mina hamada, mantra and AKAcorleone — the festival hopes to connect beautiful public art with the developing community.

all images courtesy of justkids

located on fremont street, locally known as the writers’ corner, the text-based installation spells out words from shakespeare, paying homage to the bookstore the building formerly hosted. positioned right above the door of the book store, the five line quote spells out in all caps: ‘very slow for those who wait, very fast for those who are scared, very long for those who lament, very short for those who celebrate’. the lines are centered and precisely placed perpendicularly to the wall using L-brackets.

DAKU’s sun-sensitive series, including his 2016 project in india with st+art festival, have gained him a global following in the recent years. powered by sunlight, the murals are activated during day and give life to the fonts, as their shadows become italicized. at night, the white letters are camouflaged with the white wall and become dormant.

project info:

artist: DAKU

festival: life is beautiful festival 2019

location: downtown las vegas, NV

collaboration: justkids