Above photo: Elio Mercado and his assistant Sookie created the bagged whale as the first half of a two-part mural project on campus. Brianna Rodriguez | The Crow’s Nest
By Brianna Rodriguez
When students walk into the Student Life Center atrium they will be met by a mural of a giant blue whale trapped in a plastic bag.
The mastermind behind the painting isElio Mercado and his assistant Sookie, who took on a $25,000 two-part project to transform the wall into a reminder of the importance of sustainability.
The project is on its first phase, which consists of painting the mural. Phase two which focuses on economic sustainability will begin in May.
The project was proposed to Ann Wykell by students who wanted the blank walls in the SLC to be more lively. Soon enough, Wykell became the project manager and facilitator of researching artists.
This project was first announced in a 2015 open call to public artists. The open call required artists to submit mural ideas pertaining to the theme of sustainability. A committee then decided on the artist that was chosen for the project.
Mercado did research on environmental art for this project to capture the full essence of the whale.
“The point of it is for you to look at the whale and ask ‘Why in a bag’?” said Mercado.
He aims to bring life into the mural by painting a realistic representation of the whale, as if it is in its natural habitat.
“Freshwater is clear and this is supposed to be deep water. So it is darker. This is why we call it the deep blue sea,” said Mercado.
Mercado is a self-taught artist who never went to art school. He taught himself how to paint and began his art in the street art realm, which developed into a career.
Many of Mercado’s pieces are located in South Florida, though he has artworldwide. He completed a project in St. Petersburg two years ago and he was then invited to do more projects, such as the mural, after.
“I think that it is pretty, but for the money that was spent, I ask ‘Why a whale in a bag?’” said Kayla O’Neal, sophomore health sciences major. “The first thing that I think of is ‘Finding Nemo’ and the girl shaking the bag.”
An earlier version of this story referred to the Student Life Center as the Student Learning Center.
