From the streets of Minsk to walls across Europe, Mihas Mishuk aka ArtMihus’s hand-drawn diver has become an unlikely symbol of resilience, exile and the quiet joy of discovering a city one wall at a time
From the streets of Minsk to walls across Europe, Mihas Mishuk aka ArtMihus’s hand-drawn diver has become an unlikely symbol of resilience, exile and the quiet joy of discovering a city one wall at a time
Insider: I was genuinely surprised to spot one of your divers while I was on holiday in Greece. It made me realise your work has travelled far beyond Warsaw. Where else have your divers surfaced, and is there a city where you’ve secretly dreamed of leaving one?
Mihas Mishuk: The divers appear in cities and countries I’m lucky enough to visit myself, or through friends and people who connect with the story behind the character. Sometimes someone suggests placing one because they live there or are travelling there.
One place I’d especially like to leave a diver is Minsk. That’s where the project began, but I can’t travel there at the moment. I hope one day I can.
Can you tell us the story behind your divers? And I’ve noticed a few alongside the Mermaid. Is that a play on Wars and Sawa?
The diver was born in 2013, when I graduated from the Academy of Arts and had no idea what came next. I felt like I was being carried by the current of life, and the diving suit became a metaphor—a shell protecting you from the outside world.
I started drawing divers at home and pasting them around the city. Those walks helped me cope with uncertainty. Eventually I found work, stopped making art for almost eight years and nearly forgot about the diver.
Then came the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. After the protests and the violent crackdown, I was forced to leave my country. Suddenly I was living with the same uncertainty as before, and the diver returned. Now the current carries both of us from city to city. In a way, he’s an immigrant diver. Today he can be found in 25 cities across 16 countries.
The Mermaid collaborations came from wanting to make the project more accessible. At first I felt people didn’t quite connect with the diver, so I began pairing him with local symbols. That’s how the Mermaid appeared, followed by the Strelitzia in Madeira, the Owl in Athens and the Winged Lion in Venice.
It’s a creative challenge that encourages me to learn about each city’s history while giving the diver a new context. And every single diver is still drawn entirely by hand.
At what point did you realise your little diver had stopped being a sticker and become part of Warsaw’s visual identity?
It’s flattering to hear people say that, but I don’t really feel it myself yet. Perhaps it’s because I still live here. The divers aren’t even in every neighbourhood yet, although I hope to change that this summer.
Your divers seem to appear in places that feel perfectly chosen. Do you spend more time creating the artwork or scouting the city for the right wall?
Choosing locations is difficult to explain. Sometimes a place reveals itself immediately; other times I can wander for hours without finding the right wall. There are locations I’ve watched for weeks before deciding they were ready.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with scale and creating installations in the water, but most of my winter is still spent drawing the classic divers. On a productive day I might complete 10 to 20 small pieces, while a larger work can take several days.
The diver has become an unofficial mascot for many people exploring Warsaw. Have you ever been recognised while putting one up, and what’s been your favourite reaction?
Yes, I have. One of the most memorable moments was receiving a letter from a commercial diver in Australia. After I explained the meaning behind the character, he described descending hundreds of metres into dark, murky water where you can barely see beyond your own arm, relying entirely on your diving suit for protection.
His experience mirrored the emotions that inspired me to create the diver in the first place.
Insider: If you could create one giant permanent ArtMihus installation anywhere in Warsaw, where would it be?
I already know exactly where. It would stand in the Vistula, near the pedestrian bridge, where my current installation is now. Only this one would be much larger and built from durable materials. The existing piece is made of wood, so I doubt it will survive more than a year. I hope one day I’ll be able to build the version I’ve always imagined.
