IMPROMPTU COLLABO
WITH HEDY TJIN, WHOSE PORTRAITS TO HONOUR VICTIMS OF RACIAL VIOLENCE BLENDED INTO OUR TOLHUISTUIN WALL IN AMSTERDAM-NOORD
The Tolhuistuin, a cultural center in the north of Amsterdam had heard of our other projects in Amsterdam-Noord and decided to allocate a part of their art budget for a similar mural next to their garden, situated on the road leading to the ferry. Last year we had already painted several murals in the North of Amsterdam in collaboration with ‘Verdedig Noord’; colourful backgrounds to which portraits of local heroes were added.
On the very day we started painting the background of this mural, George Floyd was murdered by the US police. This caused a wave of protests against police violence and racism all around the world. While we were painting, we were discussing that within light of these global protests, it would make more sense to portray the people that had died as a result of police violence instead of local heroes. During the days after the painting of the background, the idea grew on us and we felt that it was the right time to do it. As we wanted this mural to really stand out and be different from the ones made further north, we decided to team up with Hedy Tjin, an amazing artist and graphic designer with a very unique style in portraits.
The background was painted in close collaboration with ‘Verdedig Noord’ and participants were arranged via both parties. This painting crew, consisting of both new and old northerners, managed to paint the entire background in just one day. Once completed, we talked with Hedy about her ideas regarding the design and the colors of the portraits. Hedy used what paint we had leftover as the basis for her portraits. Once finished, we added the last layer of stencils which included the names of the people portrayed on the wall and the people that helped realize it.