Cool Collaboration: Resoborg X RVCA

INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr VIDEO Wesley van Eeden on Vimeo

Designer and illustrator Wesley van Eeden (aka Resoborg) is well known for his striking murals – from Durban’s Boiler Room Cafe to New York’s Queen’s College. His latest work, entitled Love Imvelo, can be seen on Station Drive in Durban.

Watch how the mural was created in the short video below.

We also chatted to Wesley about the process behind creating this beautiful piece.

What process do you follow when creating a mural?

The biggest thing is planning what you are going to draw before you actually start production. You need to work out the dimensions of the wall, work on the concept on paper, plan how long it will take so that you have enough time, as well as work out what colours are going to be used and how much. We also had a cherry picker, which helped us reach higher areas on the wall – it’s also much more comfortable than working on a ladder. There was a repeat pattern created on the left of the mural, and even though the images are simple, it’s not so easy to mirror to get them 100% balanced. This repeat pattern was printed out to size and stencilled onto the wall as a guideline for the painting, which you will see in the video. I do a lot of clean, straight lines, so a lot of masking tape is used to cut areas to get those smooth lines. The first phase is to sketch out the artwork to size – that is really the hardest part. Often I use a grid system to help plot out the image while working with a digital mock-up with all the dimensions.

How long did the mural take to complete?

The mural took 10 days to produce, but a lot of planning was done before the actual production of the mural, as we had to arrange permission to use the wall, purchase materials, apply for funding and work through the concept. I then created a carbon copy of the mural digitally so that I knew exactly what it was going to look like when it was painted on the wall. Everything was to scale to help with proportions, helping speed up the process, as I had all the guidelines prior to starting on the wall. So, in reality the whole process took three weeks.

What story are you telling through this mural?

On a surface level, it is just a pretty image. In my latest projects I have been attempting to replicate my vector work that I do digitally. Doing this with a brush is not as easy. On a deeper level, this attempt at paint “control” is metaphorical to the things that I can’t control or understand in our human existence. It acts as almost a meditation.

This work includes details inspired by local African patterns found in clothing textiles. There are subtle icons, such as the Protea and flamingo, both of which are products that can be purchased in Shoppe in Station Drive, who have partly funded the mural. The pattern represents balance and harmony with nature and acts to encourage a deeper interaction with the world.

The Human Elephant Foundation, who was the third funder, are a visionary and collaborative organisation that initiates, co-ordinates and facilitates discussion and innovative problem-solving to create a better, respectful and sustainable world. The image’s focal point is a girl touching a baby elephant. The hope for the mural is that the artwork appeals to both kids and adults and encourages and inspires our connection with nature. RVCA often use the term “balance of opposites” and a lot of the pattern in the work visually plays with balance and mirroring to further accentuate this vibe with the brand.

Why did you use this specific colour scheme?

I like to use happy colours in my work, even though some of the content in the mural is quite serious. I wanted people to be attracted to it and using fun colours that are pleasing to the eye is a good way to draw people in.

How is this different from your mural at the Boiler Room Cafe?

The mural produced at the Boiler Room Cafe is one of the my favourite works, as it was one of the first murals that I produced. It focused on simple shapes and limited colours and broke away from realistic works. This new mural is an extension of this style. The big difference is that this project was self-started and created with my own concepts, as opposed to a commercial brief.

What do you have planned next?

Book Dash in Cape Town is flying me down to create a children’s book on 19 November in partnership with Woolworths. Book Dash is a community-driven project where illustrators and writers come together for a day to produce a children’s book that is printed and given to kids for free in South Africa. I am also participating in a group exhibition in Franschhoek at The Boutique Gallery mid-November.

See more of Resoborg’s work at resoborg.com.