ARAL Cru, Nike PH pay tribute to Kobe Bryant through EDSA, Araneta murals

Nike Philippines culminated Mamba Week in a very special way.

The global giant collaborated with local artists ARAL Cru to dedicate two murals, located at SMART Araneta Coliseum and EDSA, that celebrated Kobe Bryant and Mamba Mentality.

ARAL Cru consists of Bvdot, Cinos, and Frank, a three-man graffiti crew from the Greater Manila Area.

Through street painting and gallery work across the Philippines, they are today recognized as some of the most respected young talents in the street art movement in the country. Hard work, quality of execution, the ability to work under pressure, and of course, love for the game — this is how the ARAL Cru artists truly embody Mamba Mentality in their own lives.

Kayo Cosio of #HoneycombArts, on the other hand, organized and curated this project.

#HoneycombArts is an organization that connects culture and messaging through a variety of public art mediums. They have also curated and executed over 60 public art projects in Manila and abroad.

The first mural that ARAL Cru created directly faces the historic SMART Araneta Coliseum, the venue where Kobe Bryant made his last appearance in Manila.

The portrait of Kobe on the right side of the artwork is derived from a photo of him smiling during his last visit to the coliseum.

The mural depicts imagery of fearlessness and focus. The color scheme resembles a sunset, which sets a tone of thankfulness for a good Kobe day that had passed.

ARAL Cru relocated to Makati City to paint the second mural a few hours later.

Symbolizing the sunrise and the beginning of a new day, this mural uses the same colors as the first but moving towards the opposite direction.

The mural depicts Kobe wearing his two iconic jersey numbers, 8 and 24, shooting crumpled pieces of paper into a trash bin. An optimistic way of showing the moment when we are reminded to be a little better each time the sun rises, just like Kobe.

Throughout his career, Kobe Bryant evolved both as a person and as an athlete. And he was always the one you could reliably turn to when the game is on the line.