This small town artist has ‘bean’ busy

Artist Percy Maimela successful created a new Guinness World Record for the largest mosaic image using coffee grounds on 12 September at Sandton City. The small-town artist can usually be seen creating detailed images with salt but with a change in medium, he went for the gold.

With the collaboration of Sound Idea Session, Brain Farm and countless kilograms of black and white coffee grounds, he was able to bring an image of world-renowned DJ Black Coffee to life.

The idea came about when the events agency Brain Farm stumbled upon Maimela’s work on social media. Founder Dean Clarson approached him with the idea of the mosaic image as a promotional tool for an upcoming masterclass on business building which will host DJ Black Coffee and author Ryan Holiday in November.

Shoppers and bystanders alike were amazed, snapping a quick picture of the work in progress. The timely process did prove to be a bit tiresome at times but he powered through with a quick stretch before continuing. Nearing the three-hour mark, Maimela concluded, signing his name in white coffee grounds.

As this was an official Guinness World Record attempt, a judge and assessors were present to oversee the proceedings and, in the end, determine if the attempt was indeed to be awarded.

In order for the record to stand, Maimela’s image had to be a minimum of 25m² with zero negative spacing. The entire surface had to be covered in coffee grounds.

“I can now confirm that this coffee ground mosaic image meets our requirements and you have achieved an official Guinness World Records title,” the official read the results and the crowd instantaneously erupted.

The image officially measured at 25.962m², marking this as a new world record for the books.

Related articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/109949/samsung-sandton-city-attempts-to-break-world-record/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/168459/donate-clothing-to-break-world-record/