Ceci n’est pas un Magritte

Muha is an internationally renowned artist. You can find his murals all over the world. It is therefore special that we see can a work by the artist in Verviers.

In 2015, Muha was invited by the Maison des Jeunes des Récollets, along with many other international artists, to a seven-day workshop as part of a project on human rights. Muha has a special connection with the concept of a youth home. During the Bosnian War in the early 1990s, the youth center was a stable beacon for him in these difficult times and he learned artistic skills. It is not so clear how this work and human rights can be related to each other, but we find many elements that are specific to Muha and Belgium. 

Muha is an admirer of the Japanese artist Hokusaï and his depiction of 'the great wave of Kangawa' (1831). He has the ambition to paint 100 variants all over the world. The fresco of Verviers is number 11.

The surrealist painter Magritte has a connection with Belgium and both the figures with the bowler hat and the title are a nod to the great Belgian artist. The tentacles that emerge from the bowler hat refer to an erotic print by Hokusaï. And the fact that the wave comes from the figure's nose is an absurd impression of the artist after he saw a sketch by Monty Python in which Michael Palin blows the Marseillaise with one finger in his nostril.