
This past June, visual artist Mans Weghorst made his first large-scale work. After the temporary mural at Ploegendienst, he starts his follow-up assignment this week: a mural at Poppodium Mezz.
As one of five, Mans is part of the Blind Walls Talent Call 2024. This gives young makers the chance to develop their practice through various assignments and under the guidance of experts.
Out of a strong desire to work on a larger scale, Mans applied for the Talent Call. After two studies – a bachelor in Spatial Design and a master in Animation – he has now been working as a freelance maker for a year and a half. Time to get to know him better.
Absurdity
Mans calls his work ‘experimental surrealism’. He explains: “The bearers of my work are often characters or figures in an absurd space. I wonder where they come from and how they got there. Spatiality therefore plays a big role in my making process.” Playing with and distorting spatial rules on a flat surface always remain a recurring element.
Inspired by a briefing on the synergy between nature and music, the five talents created a mural at Ploegendienst. Mans focused on the watery surroundings of the Galderse Meren and his association with ‘floating’ underwater, referring to his first diving experience. It resulted in a cool scene: an underwater stage with sonar sounds, fluid shapes and fish. The jury was highly enthusiastic about his mural and saw in the best match with the follow-up assignment.



Experience
The scorching sun did not serve as the only challenge while painting. ‘Working on this scale was new to me and I found the size of the wall very intimidating. I had to accept pretty quickly that I had to let go of details,’ says Mans. Each talent is paired with a coach throughout the process, for Mans this is Joren Joshua: “Joren really feels like a mentor to me, I really appreciate that. I got a lot of tips from him on use of colour, composition and technique.”
Painting at Ploegendienst provided great insights. Besides the fact that Mans loved getting away from the ‘digital mess’ for a while and working analogue again, it also gave him a confidence boost. “For this assignment, I worked completely from enthusiasm and freedom. That, of course, is the dream as a maker. On a personal and professional level, this trajectory feels like a big step.”
Mezz
With all new insights, Mans is fully ready for his next assignment. The mural at Poppodium Mezz will be permanently included in Blind Walls Gallery’s collection. Fitting to his work and vision of the future, he has chosen to use characters as a starting point. The mural depicts a parade of striking characters and a bombastic fanfare. To be continued!



