This golden mosaic was created by the artist Elaine M Goodwin in 2009.

The work is directly inspired by the artist’s visits to Venice, a city she has visited many times. The subtle differences in the texture and colour of the gold used in this mosaic recreate the feeling of different buildings shrouded in sparkling mists rising from the City’s canals.

The vertical axis dividing the work and going beyond it is symbolic of a present time between two eternities.

Elaine says, “I feel an intimate connection with the city, and have experienced it in every type of weather: rain, sparkling sunlight and above all in the heavy mists of an early morning when even parts of the city I know so well become a mystery to me and all my certainties become disoriented.”

“This theme of relative knowledge for our human understanding and absolute knowledge for truths is one I find myself frequently turning to.”

The beautiful squares of glass layered with gold leaf from which the mosaic is made, called tesserae, were actually manufactured in the historic Orsoni mosaic factory in Venice, where coloured glass has been made since 1888.

Elaine M Goodwin trained at Exeter College of Art and Design. She has exhibited extensively and has written several works on mosaics and design. Together with other prominent mosaic artists, she also founded Tessellated Expression for the 21st Century (TE-21), a group of professional artists dedicated to exhibitions of mosaics.

She was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Letters (DLitt) for outstanding contribution to the world of art, by the University of Exeter in July 2010. She is the Founder President of BAMM (British Association for Modern Mosaic).

Having lived in and contributed to the cultural life of Exeter for many years, Elaine moved to France in 2016, where she continues her artistic practice and has a permanent gallery of her work.

Mists II: The Known and the Unknown is just one of several mosaics by Elaine at the University of Exeter and it forms part of the University’s Sculpture Walk.

Find out more about Elaine M Goodwin, her artistic practice and see more examples of her work here.