Content warning: Street Art by Street Artist Nikita Nomerz from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Nikita Nomerz transforms abandoned structures into living, expressive faces, blending street art with the natural decay of urban landscapes.
His murals breathe new life into crumbling buildings, bridges, and water towers across Russia, turning them into characters full of personality and depth. By working with the contours and textures of these forgotten spaces, Nomerz creates a unique dialogue between art and architecture.
The Living Wall
In 2010, on the banks of the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod, the Living Walls project began with the first street art piece, Big Brother. This marked the start of a series of works aimed at giving a second life to abandoned buildings. Each piece interacts with its environment, turning architectural elements—windows, cracks, and textures—into expressive faces and characters.
Street art and traditional studio painting evoke entirely different emotions. Creating art in public spaces sparks a dialogue with passersby, architecture, and nature, making the work feel truly alive. While street art may be temporary, it develops its own unique life, shaped by time and its surroundings.
1.
The Laughing Tower
A ruined water tower, with hollow circular openings for eyes, is painted with an exaggerated wide-open mouth, making it appear joyfully unhinged. The playfulness contrasts with the building’s decayed state, turning the site into a living character.
2.
The Three Faces
Three large, rounded concrete blocks are brought to life with highly expressive faces—one smiling, one baring its teeth in frustration, and another with a discontented expression. Placed in front of an industrial backdrop, the contrast between the decayed setting and the humorous expressions adds to the surreal nature of the piece.
3.
The Crumbling Smile
A cracked yellow wall is transformed into a grinning face, with the deteriorating bricks and stones serving as jagged teeth. The artwork highlights the natural decay of the structure, giving it a distinct personality that blends seamlessly with its surroundings.
4.
The Watchtower Elder
A tall, cylindrical water tower is transformed into the face of an old man with a long white beard, blending seamlessly with the building’s structure. The expressive eyes and textured details make the tower feel like a wise figure standing guard over the landscape.
5.
Eyes in the Snow
Two massive, painted eyes on wooden barrels emerge from the snow, staring out at the city street. The winter setting enhances the eerie effect, making it seem as if the city itself is watching.
6.
The Screaming Tank
A rusting industrial tank is turned into a face with an exaggerated open mouth, creating the illusion of a loud scream. The work plays with the shape of the tank to enhance its emotional impact, appearing almost alive amid the urban surroundings.
7.
The Wall with Glowing Eyes
A brick wall is transformed into a solemn face, with two glowing windows as eyes piercing through the darkness. This nighttime shot captures the haunting atmosphere, where the artwork interacts with the artificial light, making it feel almost supernatural.
8.
The Prisoner
An abandoned building becomes a striking illusion of a man gripping iron bars, as if trying to break free from confinement. The black-and-white vertical lines reinforce the idea of imprisonment, turning the deteriorating structure into a powerful statement about captivity and escape.
9.
The Watchful Tower
A tall industrial tower is painted with an elongated face wrapped in intricate patterns, creating a surreal and timeless expression. The blending of natural curves with the structure gives it an ethereal, almost guardian-like presence in the sky.
10.
The Giant Baby Face
Inside an abandoned building, Nomerz paints a massive, unsettlingly realistic baby’s face on a crumbling wall. The contrast between the youthful expression and the decay of the structure makes this piece particularly haunting.
11.
The Screaming Bunker
An old concrete bunker is turned into a monster-like face with an open mouth serving as the entrance. Jagged white stones inside resemble teeth, making it appear as if the bunker is about to swallow visitors whole.
12.
The Firm Grip
Two large industrial domes feature murals of individual hands gripping onto bars. The artwork gives the illusion that someone inside is holding onto the structure’s entrance, as if trapped or refusing to let go.
13.
The Bridge With Teeth
A stone bridge is transformed into a wide-mouthed face with painted eyes on either side. The long row of teeth under the archway makes it feel like the river flows straight through its grin.
14.
The Haunted Chapel
An old brick chapel is given a haunting face with eyes painted onto the windows and a mouth made from the building’s doorway, complete with jagged stone “teeth.” The worn-down state of the structure amplifies the eerie effect.
15.
The Blessing
A tall building is painted with a robed figure, its hands folded in a meditative pose. The structure’s unique triangular rooftop serves as a natural “hat” for the figure, seamlessly integrating architecture with the mural’s design.
16.
The Hidden Prisoner
A mural of a man peeking through a crack in a doorway is painted onto a small structure, blending seamlessly with the building’s architecture. The gripping hands and intense gaze add a sense of mystery, making it feel as if someone is trapped inside, watching the outside world.
17.
The Three Warriors
Three large domed buildings are transformed into the faces of bearded men wearing medieval-style helmets. The dark brick and metallic dome tops create the illusion of battle-worn warriors.
Portrait of street artist Nikita Nomerz
Nikita Nomerz stand in front of one of his signature murals—a massive, grinning face painted onto an old industrial tank. Wearing a protective suit and mask, he stands behind a chain-link fence, reinforcing the themes of decay, confinement, and transformation often found in his work.
Nikita Nomerz at Work
A rare behind-the-scenes shot of the artist himself, spray-painting onto an old brick wall. His process emphasizes how he integrates his murals with the existing textures of the decaying structures.
