HUMAIN MURAL FOR THE BELGIAN NATIONAL HOLIDAY*

23/07/2020

Last weekend, Zenith finalised his sixth wall and we couldn’t be more excited to share this impactful design with the world. This mural was commissioned by King Philippe on the occasion of our national holiday, in collaboration with the Centre of Fine Arts Bozar. And we have to say, we pulled out all the stops for our nation. Applying the design to this 50 meter high wall in the midst of a street under construction and in less than two weeks seemed impossible for some, but by assembling a great team the dream became reality.

With his remarkable design, Zenith has brought a strong message to the city centre of Antwerp. To put it in his words:

“The hand symbolizes creation, connection, contact and unity. Human contact implies responsibility. We are responsible for each other, especially now. This wall symbolizes our individual but also our historical responsibility.

The crack on this wall was shot on a statue of king Leopold II. The copper background refers to the resource that Belgium was mining heavily during the colonisation. The hand explicitly refers to the inhumane practice of Belgian officials cutting civilians hands off whenever they resisted working in the camps. 

It is a proper time to acknowledge the inhumain practices and horrific past and to consider a way of reparation for the inconceivable amount of pain and trauma caused by our nation. The time to speak and listen to each other is NOW. Let’s unite and avoid repeating the same neglectful and inhumane practices of the past.”

Make sure to stop by the Kronenburgstraat or its surrounding streets when in Antwerp to take a look for yourself and share your thoughts!