THE ARTIST
Antoine Merger
Virgo
Water Buffalo
Skater
Dropout
Painter
Decorator
Graphic Designer
Father
Even Soot, “Scorpius shop” owner and founder discovered my art in 2006, during a multi-media art exhibition near Melbourne, Australia.
He got in contact with me two years later and I started painting his mural in early April 2008 in Oslo, Norway. It took me and Valentin Michaut
3 months (some 500 hours) to achieve it!
We set up a scaffolding against this 130 square meters wall and covered it with large plastic sheets to protect the mural from sight untill it was done. That was a big issue!
I could neither project my sketches on the wall nor step back to check out my work in progress. Thus I had to grid the area to be painted to match the design allowing the image to be scaled accurately step by step.
Even wanted some signs to appear in the design such as an Indian Ohm, stars, the Osiris eye etc... apart from that, he gave me carte blanche.
Scorpius Shop Mural Oslo 2008
Photo by Valentin Michaut
First is the Ohm, the original sound, creation of all things. Then comes a (very indian) goddess on a white background (White is related to purity and cleanness; it is also the extreme end of visual spectrum) She plays with the elementary particles and creates colors and matter. Fire element.
The modern Ganesha stands for human and animal life launched on earth. The winged man represents sciences while esoterics glyphs signal the beginning of beliefs. Earth element.The pagodas are related to antique Asia although the stylized andrean condor transport us to ancient south american cultures...
...and then to western gothic middle age. Earth and Air elements.
the aerial fish-eyed city view propulse us in modern time. The rainbow colored zeppelin are a romantic symbol of human kind technological achievments. Air element.
The rainbow colored zeppelin are a romantic symbol of human kind technological achievments. Air element. Then, the face is us with our duality. One eye is wondering, the other as a warrior look. On the left, all the story above has just happened, like a dream; On the right, the waterfalls symbolise our creativity, water being the element of the artists.