Street art duo Studio Giftig has been commissioned by the municipality of Veldhoven to paint a mural on the 240-metre-long retaining wall of the Peter Zuidlaan.
The theme of the mural is connection. Residents are invited to contribute their ideas on how they envision this.
Veldhoven residents can submit their ideas for the mural via email to the council. Studio Giftig will use these ideas as a source of inspiration and will add their own twist to create a cohesive piece.
Empathy
Alderman Jeroen Rooijakkers is enthusiastic about the plan: “It is one of the most beautiful projects in my portfolio. We want to gather ideas and inspiration from as many Veldhoven residents as possible to arrive at the story of Veldhoven. Every resident will be able to empathise and feel a connection with the mural. This way, everyone can feel a little bit like an owner.”
Width
According to Kaspar van Leek from Studio Giftig, the wall for the project is one of the widest they have worked with so far. “By working with such a wide wall, you are working broadly both literally and figuratively. We want to create a painting for all the residents of Veldhoven, a broad audience, that tells a story from beginning to end.”
“This makes it more challenging to paint than a wall with a more standard length and width. With that, you are working with the idea of one image in your mind, but with a wide wall, you are painting multiple things that also need to flow beautifully into one another.”
Studio Giftig
Artists Niels van Swaemen and Kaspar van Leek joined forces in 2007 to establish Studio Giftig. The artistic duo from the Eindhoven region initially started with collaborative projects alongside their work and studies in a simple storage space.
After significant interest and insufficient time for full dedication to projects, they decided in 2012 to focus entirely on murals. In the years that followed, Niels and Kaspar developed a joint painting style, which gained them recognition and won several international awards.
Start and end date
Until 30 April at the latest, residents of Veldhoven can submit their ideas for the mural. These will be compiled by the municipality and taken to Studio Giftig. Kaspar van Leek states that they will begin painting around September or October. The mural is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Kirti Singh
