Williamsburg is now home to two new murals, one located just inside the main entrance to Kentucky Splash Waterpark and the other inside a new Main Street restaurant expected to open sometime in the coming months.
The murals were created by Jordan Justice, a popular Somerset-based artist that has done multiple area murals, including the river mural at the Green Space on Main in Williamsburg and the NIBROC mural in downtown Corbin, and Rafael Jung, a renowned Brazilian artist that has painted pieces in various locations across the globe.
Justice and Jung met through their mutual love for art.
Justice said he initially learned of Jung through Instagram after seeing some of his work posted on the social media platform. Justice said that he instantly became a fan of Jung, which eventually led to them befriending one another.
“We talked back and forth forever. And then he was like, ‘Hey, man, I’m going to have an art festival. Would you like to come down and paint with me?’ And I was like, ‘Man, I would love to,’” said Justice.
The two got to meet in person during Jung’s festival, where they worked alongside a dozen other artists from multiple countries. They’ve remained in touch via social media since then. But when Justice learned that Jung would be traveling to visit some extended family members in Connecticut for the holidays, he saw it as a chance for the two of them to work together once again.
“I told him, ‘Man, you have to fly down here,’” said Justice.
That led to Jung and his family taking a temporary detour to Kentucky last week. Justice reached out to Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison to see if there were any opportunities for the two to work on a mural somewhere in town, which Harrison quickly jumped at.
“I didn’t know of anything right off, but I told him I would definitely find one,” said Harrison.
He ended up finding two.
Harrison said that the waterpark was an obvious fit, especially since all of the original artwork currently on display there has been painted by Justice. The opportunity at the other location “just kind of materialized,” according to Harrison.
That location is the soon-to-be restaurant, The Hunt and The Harvest, which will be located next to Hollywood Video on Main Street. The restaurant, which is owned by local attorney, Adam Howard, and will be operated by local chef, Nick Bishop, will feature a locally-sourced, farm-to-table style menu. The restaurant is expected to open sometime this spring. The News Journal will follow-up with a standalone story on The Hunt and The Harvest later this month.
Jung, who speaks primarily Portuguese, was able to communicate with Justice and others with the help of a translation app, as well as with some assistance from a translator, Gerschwin Onna, of Georgetown. The News Journal was able to speak to Jung on Monday using the translation app.
According to Jung, he has been working professionally as an artist for 22 years. In that time, he has traveled the world painting murals, including in cities such as Paris, Quito and Barcelona.
“Within Brazil, I have worked in almost all regions of the country,” said Jung. “Though this was my first time here [in Kentucky]. I was very happy to get the opportunity to work together with Jordan,” said Jung.
“It is very important to make these connections from traveling to other countries, because it’s always a great learning experience.”
The two new murals in Williamsburg are among the only art that can be found by Jung within the United States, with the only other pieces being in the town in Connecticut where his extended family resides. Both Harrison and Justice agreed that just makes the new murals that much more special.
For anyone interested in seeing Jung’s other work, he can be found on Instagram at @5galaxia. Those who would like to see more work by Justice can also find him on Instagram at @jordanjusticeart.
