{"id":93509,"date":"2025-06-07T09:15:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T16:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=93509"},"modified":"2025-06-13T09:09:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T16:09:57","slug":"the-space-between-is-a-cross-continental-mural-collaboration-in-south-salt-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-space-between-is-a-cross-continental-mural-collaboration-in-south-salt-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Space Between” is a Cross-Continental Mural Collaboration in South Salt Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The full view of the collaborative murals by Osiris Rain and Marcus Debie at the Bowers Residences. Facing one another across a parking structure, the two figures express themes of connection, distance, and mutual presence. Image by Shawn Rossiter.<\/p><\/div>\n

Two striking new murals rise up along the sides of a parking garage in South Salt Lake’s rapidly changing downtown. Unveiled as part of the 2025 edition of South Salt Lake’s Mural Fest, the works are the result of a long-awaited collaboration between Dutch artist Marcus Debie<\/a>, known as GOMAD, and American muralist Osiris Rain<\/a>, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.<\/h4>\n

This partnership was born out of a chance meeting during a mural festival in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2018. Each artist was working on their own mural when Debie handed Rain a leftover spray paint can and said, \u201cLet\u2019s work together someday.\u201d Eight years later, the pair collaborated on \u201cThe Space Between\u201d\u2014a poetic two-wall conversation exploring duality, instinct, and human connection.<\/h4>\n

The murals face each other on the south side of the Bowers Residences, a new residential complex named after the bowerbird\u2014an avian species famed for building elaborate, color-focused structures not for shelter, but as displays to attract a mate. This natural metaphor forms the conceptual backbone of the project. Like the bowerbird\u2019s ritual, the murals blend intention, creativity, and aesthetic instinct.<\/h4>\n

On the left, a man is portrayed in serene introspection, his eyes closed, framed by sweeping orchids, butterflies, and delicate birds. His fingers gently cradle a bowerbird, symbolizing care and craft. The colors are rich and calming\u2014earthy greens, creamy whites, and layered pinks, intersected by circular motifs that evoke movement and orbit. There\u2019s a sense of offering in his gesture, as if extending a piece of himself through creation.<\/h4>\n
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Painted by Osiris Rain, this mural depicts a man in peaceful introspection, cradling a bird amid blooming orchids.\u00a0 Image by Shawn Rossiter<\/p><\/div>\n

This side, painted by Osiris Rain, blends his classical techniques and deep emotive style with a surreal elegance. His rendering evokes not just beauty, but tenderness\u2014a quiet masculine energy rooted in vulnerability and offering.<\/h4>\n

The second figure is a woman crowned in blooming peonies, her face uplifted and eyes closed, seemingly lost in inner clarity. A bird perches lightly at her shoulder, while a sculptural ribbon of color arcs behind her like a celestial path. The woman\u2019s coat is stylishly rendered, grounding her in a present, human reality while her posture and floral adornments elevate her to something mythic.<\/h4>\n

Painted by Marcus Debie, a pioneer of Southern Dutch graffiti and a leading voice in post-neo graffitism, this mural blends photorealism with symbolic abstraction. The floral crown is based on a gown seen at an exhibition of garments worn by Dutch Queen M\u00e1xima, designed by fashion visionary Mohamed Benchellal. The elegance of the figure\u2014both contemporary and timeless\u2014adds to the mural’s symbolic strength.<\/h4>\n
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Created by Marcus Debie (GOMAD), this mural features a floral-crowned woman exuding grace and strength. Image by Shawn Rossiter.<\/p><\/div>\n

Beyond technique, this collaboration stands out for its emotional resonance and conceptual strength. It\u2019s not just a mural\u2014it\u2019s a meditation on beauty, both offered and protected.<\/h4>\n

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The murals can be viewed at 55 W. Bowers Way in South Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

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