The playful and peculiar creatures Rop van Mierlo creates are just as at home on the walls of Amsterdam as they are campaigning for a political party. Working in a variety of mediums, the Dutch artist is most well-known for his wet-on-wet paintings, where carefully prepared drawings are submerged in water causing the colors and outlines to blend and blur. The result is a series of abstract, almost child-like visuals which are recognizable as simple, two-dimensional animals—from pandas and tigers to whales and donkeys. Over the years Rop has created wall hangings, rugs, animations, and even self-initiated a poster campaign for Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) a left-wing political party with a sustainable ethos, but the common message in whatever he does seems to be one of reconnecting with our animal within.
