Never Crew is in the Ural Mountains in Satka, Russia with a message about man’s disconnection with nature. Their murals often contain one large animal, and this time a bear takes center stage – rather papered over by industrial “progress,” perhaps?

NeverCrew. “Baring Machine” Satka Street Art Festival. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

The Swiss-based duo say we have developed systems of working against nature that “lead to an emotional and intellectual detachment where everything becomes acceptable also when it’s damaging, where there’s no more perception of consequences and so no more perception of reality.” The new large scale mural appears in a city that was founded on an iron mine and now is organized around an immense magnesite quarry that burrows deep into the earth’s crust.

NeverCrew. “Baring Machine” Satka Street Art Festival. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

Perhaps that is the inspiration for the name of the large piece called “Baring Machine,” playing on the spelling of ‘bear’ and the machinery of extraction. A smaller related mural work nearby features tool sets involved in the digging and extraction process.

We’re not sure if locals will directly appreciate what could be interpreted as an indirect critique – but what the hell, once the earth is exhausted and the money is gone, someone may relish this sentiment. “This is a place that well represents the relation between mankind and nature,” the duo says in a statement, “the proportion between them and especially a connection based on the use of resources, on which are built the local life and structures.”

NeverCrew. “Baring Machine” Satka Street Art Festival. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

NeverCrew. “Baring Machine” Satka Street Art Festival. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

NeverCrew. “Baring Machine” Satka Street Art Festival. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

NeverCrew. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

NeverCrew. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)

NeverCrew. Satka, Russia. May 2017. (photo © NeverCrew)