New art on campus
– A surrealistic and figurative approach, says art historian Siri Meyer about the new mural created by the Argentine street artist Jaz on the UiB campus.
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The work is a kind of mirror image of a double-headed ram carrying two women on its back, and is painted onto a wall in Herman Foss gate, opposite the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Jaz is the nom de plume of the 30-year-old Argentine artist Franco Fasoli. Before arriving in Bergen, Fasoli spent a month and a half traveling Europe, amongst other doing a show in a Spanish art gallery. Just before visiting Bergen, he participated in the NuArt festival in Stavanger.
For inspiration
The artist was invited to Bergen by the artist collective Bergen Street Art (BSA), with financial support by the city of Bergen. The BSA also suggested the use of the University of Bergen’s wall for the artwork, according to a member of the collective JohnXC.
– This is a good place to display an art form that is not quite fully accepted yet. I believe that many will see this work of art and love it. It is a good start if nothing else, he says.
JohnXC hopes that the simple way the artwork was created – Jaz used only two paintbrushes that were glued together – will inspire other artists.
Great fun
The request to use the wall came from the municipality of Bergen. Professor Siri Meyer heads the Aesthetics Committee at UiB and got clearance for the painting from the leadership of the university.
– We made the wall available to the artist, with the agreement that the municipality can remove the artwork within six months if we choose to remove it, Meyer says.
She is very satisfied with the finished work.
– I think this is great fun. It is a very surrealistic and figurative artwork, she says.