I can’t breathe
This graffiti is small and located in an unremarkable spot. I discovered it while I was dancing hard at a festival and needed to sit down for a moment. The image refers to one of those moments that changed history: the arrest and mistreatment of George Floyd, a Black man. The graffiti may be small, […]
Gabber
It’s the only youth scene that originated in the Netherlands, specifically in Rotterdam. Hardcore house music and a good amount of drugs fueled long nights of dancing. The Gabber scene: bomber jackets, Aussies, and shaved heads. But despite the tough clothing, it was a kind scene. Kind but intense, and Gabber is something that comes […]
Charlotte
Techno is probably the hardest and most intense style of house music; conceived in Frankfurt, born in Detroit, and now residing in Berlin. I regularly visit the famous clubs in the Friedrichshain district. The city of Berlin has even declared the music and its clubs as cultural heritage, which is a tribute to both the […]
Collage
When you have a sticker and decide to place it on a metal door, how do you choose where to stick it? Naturally, you first look at the open spaces—areas where you’re not covering other stickers. But do you also consider color and composition? Or do you slap it on quickly and thoughtlessly, because you […]
Who is afraid of Red, Yellow and Black
I saw this stunning composition in an unexpected place, right in the heart of Amsterdam. I was visiting a friend, an artist who was temporarily living in a canal house through a special city program. The composition is wild, like raging flames that seem to use the posters beneath it as fuel. The lady in […]
Secretly danced
I found her at the NDSM site in Amsterdam, almost hidden, on a block of concrete. It looks as if she’s dancing while taming a rebellious lock of hair. Sometimes you catch that fleeting moment, when you see someone attractive making a graceful move. You’d want to dance with her, but the moment is already […]
Punk
She glances over her shoulder, in a pose made famous by Johannes Vermeer in his painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. But she’s of a different caliber. Her hair is red, she’s wearing a black leather jacket with a raven on it, and she looks a bit disdainful. It reminds me of Punk, a youth […]
Feminism
I love graffiti that speaks to the issues of our time. This Iranian girl is holding the Iranian flag. The text in French, “On en a marre du sexisme,” means “we’re fed up with sexism.” It’s fitting that it’s in French, the language of revolution since the French Revolution. This, of course, refers to the […]
Odin
The woman in the lower left fascinates me the most. Maybe it’s because I have a connection with the mythology of the ancient Vikings. To me, she represents Odin. Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to the giant Mimir in exchange for a drink from his magical well, granting him infinite wisdom. Odin also has […]
Cobain
Kurt Cobain, a sensation in the ’90s, was the lead singer of the band Nirvana. In 1994, he tragically took his own life. However, there are alternative theories, and Courtney Love, his then-partner, sometimes surfaces in them. Was it murder? This image can no longer tell us. The boy, holding a radio, may be trying […]