Collection - Speerstra

Melting Spot / 120 x 100 cm / 2012

The first thing we notice in this piece from Mist is its overflowing, out of the frame composition. The artist presents a work that is both graphic and extremely meticulous. Let’s have a closer look at this piece to find out where it draws its strength from. Three different layers can be spotted. On a background, similar to a polluted concrete wall, paint trails and sprays randomly articulate themselves on the different shades of grey. Then, our eye is attracted by solid, bright shapes with a black outline. Finally, different splatters, big points and a myriad of smaller ones suddenly appear, almost imperceptible. But what is the coherence between all of these sides? Let’s take a step back and adopt a more global view. The title of this piece is "Melting Spot". As an obvious reference to the cultural mix of the European big cities, Mist’s piece tells this intermingling of diversities. Here, the colors are neighborhoods where different values and different origins rule, always in motion. A core clearly appears, made of superpositions and entanglements of cultures. However, up in the North, several "spots" seem to go against the tide of this great mixture. "Melting Spot" paints the portrait of a territory where living together despite the differences is, above all, a story of cultures.