‘WELCOME’ The latest mural by Spanish Artist PEJAC for NUART Aberdeen, Scotland 2022

Posted by Donna on 23rd June, 2022
Filed under: From the Street

Spanish artist PEJAC has just completed his latest intervention for this year’s Nuart Aberdeen Festival, which took place between the 9th and the 12th of June. This is the artist’s second invitation by Nuart, and this year PEJAC played with the festival’s theme of reconnecting the city and its people.

PEJAC chose the entrance of a building in the very centre of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, for his outdoor project ‘WELCOME’. The property was specifically chosen because it hosts many charities and homes for vulnerable residents facing social exclusion.

Pejac’s idea was to bring a doormat to the entrance that read ‘WELCOME’. In PEJAC’s style, you need to look closer to find the multitude of tiny figures that make up this doormat. The tiny figures come together to stand for every aspect of the WELCOME concept, the meaning of which has been increasingly hard to find recently.

The message is one of dignity and understanding. Those who have been pushed to the margins of society can recognise the importance of an open and heartfelt welcome more than anyone.

It reframes the potential of those who have been discriminated against and, in some sense, stepped over by society, presenting them as united and proud. They are “Tired of being stepped over”.