PHOTO GALLERY: Explore the works of street artist ChemiS

ChemiS is the handle of street artist Dmitriy Proshkin, a Kazakh-born artist who now lives in Prague. His powerful murals can be seen not only across Prague and Czechia but throughout the world. In the Czech capital, his two most famous works speak to the conflict in Ukraine. We've rounded up some of ChemiS's key works and noted where you can spot them.

The standing cutout is currently on the balcony of the Smiřicky Palace in Malostranské náměstí, but see it soon as it is a temporary installation. “This painting represents that determination and belief that together we can overcome anything! Glory to Ukraine!” the artist said on Instagram.

Unveiled a year ago on Mojmírova Street in Prague 4, the artist said of this mural, depicting a girl under a Ukrainian flag surrounded by toys. "Ukraine is now fighting to protect their future and their freedom, as well as ours." He went on to say, "As a father of two, I cannot imagine the helplessness, pain, and fear that ordinary people experience."

Another new work called “After Us, the Deluge” recently made its debut in the Myselbek Shopping Gallery in Prague and will be there until the end of September. The image of a woman trying to stay afloat by balancing tells us that the world has to be preserved for generations to come.

In Prague's Modřany district, you can find an optical illusion-style mural on the side of a commercial building that sells plastic windows. The image shows a woman in an abandoned building, with a devastated landscape outside. On Instagram, he said it was about climate change.

He created a tearful Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk on the side of the small service building near the Faculty of Science of the Palacký University in Olomouc. It was painted in 2018 for a street art festival that coincided with the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia.

When the painting was new, he said it was intended to spark discussion. "The opportunity to speak freely and to discuss with each other is fundamental to democracy. What our country became and where it is directed, among other things, is reflected by the representatives we elect, including the values they hold," he said.

A sleeping child with a teddy bear appeared on the side of a dilapidated building in Pilsen in June 2022. It was part of the international street art festival WALLZ. The building was used for housing low-income Romani families.

Another one of his Prague projects can no longer be seen. He participated in a project by the group Artwise in 2020 with a picture of Jesus carrying his cross among people looking at their mobile phones. The image was in the Karlovo náměstí metro station, along with works by other artists. A second work from the same show depicts Jesus as a baby, with modern-day impoverished people as visitors coming to see him.

He also travels frequently to Aruba and paints murals there as well. He posted a picture of the Dutch royal family in front of one of his images about two months ago. The painting, which was created in 2017, depicts artist and musician Mo Mohamed, who can also be seen on the far right talking to the royal family in the below image.

Other international works include a 2020 mural in Helsinki about social media. "Our generation and the generation of children we raise often get stuck in the social internet bubble in which we build our image that we would like to live. This world builds on a superficial presentation without real values, putting trends in clothing, cosmetics, expensive restaurants, holidays and electronics in the forefront," he said.

To see more works by ChemiS visit the artist's website.