Cape Town-based artist Gavin Larkin has reimagined the beyond-famous Mona Lisa in a fascinating way: through upcycled materials!
Cape Town, South Africa (29 September 2024) — Cape Town-based artist and photographer Gavin Larkin has reimagined one of the most famous paintings of all time in a series of captivating wonders. Here, the old saying ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ couldn’t be more fitting. In fact, ‘One man’s trash might just be another’s Mona Lisa’.
Originally from Port Elizabeth, Gavin has long been drawn to the visual curiosities of the world. Inspired by the French Impressionists, nature and the art of painting ‘en plein air’, Gavin has quite a knack for snatching big and expressive moments, and remastering them on a much smaller canvas.
But, his series of Mona Lisas’ reimagined strikes a different chord of creativity.
Here, we see the painting that’s had the world’s eyes upon it for ages. Yet, it is not an exhibition of paint. One Mona Lisa is a mosaic of plastic bottle tops. Another boasts metal bottle caps cured in resin, collected mostly from Muizenberg. There’s also the ‘It’s in the Can’ rendition of the Mona Lisa; made from beverage cans. Not to mention the ‘Keeping Tabs’ Mona Lisa, who, you guessed it, has been constructed through pull tabs.
View this post on Instagram
Upcycling crafted in this delicate way offers the viewer quite the juxtaposition. Here is the waste we so often turn our noses up in its ugly imposition, so beautifully mended together to create a masterpiece.
Related Story
“Much emphasis is placed on experimentation with used (waste) and new materials and mediums, whilst always striving to be unique and original,” reads the artist’s statement.
“Being on the cutting edge of modern art is where my interest is,” it furthers. And really, what could be more cutting edge than turning the eyesores of our world into quite the opposite?
You can visit the artworks at Youngblood Africa in Cape Town this September.
by 