For the third edition of The Crystal Ship, the popular art festival in Ostend, Belgium‘s largest coastal city. Over fifteen local and international artists were on site such as Icy & Sot, Milu Correch and Oak Oak using the City by the Sea as their canvas. The American born, Ghent-based artist A Squid Called Sebastian aka ASCS also contributed new work that addresses desolation, a current issue facing the town.
About the Mural
ASCS’s mural tackles the enormous amount of vacant residences in Ostend, that’s essentially turning it into a ghost town. He illustrates this through the focal point of his work, a man that’s looking out from the harbor to a sea of empty boats, some even capsized. The harbor is being decommissioned and turned into waterfront condos. With 70% of the built luxury condos sold as second homes, adding to the current issue of desolation.
The essence of melancholy the artist uses to portray this ship graveyard alludes that the man is at a funeral for the harbor, which, was inhabited by generations of people for hundreds of years.
About the Artist
A Squid Called Sebastian aka ASCS is a street-artist raised in Ghent, Belgium who was born in Boston. At the top of the Belgian street art scene, his work is often autobiographical and tells a story with his paintings, drawings and murals inspired by themes such as dead and living people, society, comics, media and nostalgia.
His work can not only be seen in Belgium, but also in Canada and the United States as well. He’s also a participant in Miami’s annual always Wynwood Walls.
About The Crystal Ship Festival
The Crystal Ship is a contemporary art festival in Ostend, Belgium that specializes in public space producing over 25 installations, sculptures and murals per year. The Crystal Ship also represents a selected group of visual artists worldwide and responds to their needs in the ever-changing domain of art and culture.
Images by Blocal • Travel & Street Art blog unless stated otherwise.
A Squid Called Sebastian: Website | Instagram | Facebook
The Crystal Ship: Website | Facebook | Instagram
