Bitter Sweet is a visual response to the strange times that we are experiencing – a reflection to reach out for hope. The balance of both lively and monochromatic palettes set the tone of pain and salvation. The pain represents the difficulty and salvation depicts relief. To complete understanding and to attain wisdom both have to happen and exist. Therefore to seek a holistic response, both pain and salvation complement and support each other. Once the blessing in disguise is understood, only then can clarity be born. Leaning on its likeness in which Rumi expressed, “What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.”

About the artist
With zero art education, 33-year-old NOEZ23 considers himself a fairly late starter in the street art scene, holding his very first spray can just seven years ago. It began when a chance conversation with an army acquaintance led to an invitation to hang out with some of the city’s pioneering graffiti artists, where he witnessed art being created with “just a few spray cans”, something he described as mind-blowing. The former fanboy started from scratch, constantly practicing, attending every street art event and exhibition held, and became an apprentice at The Blackbook where he “worked, cleaned, [and did] anything they told [him] to” in exchange for knowledge. Today, he is a full-fledged member of ZNC, or Zincnitecrew, one of the city’s strongest graffiti collectives with 75 members worldwide.