Zeeburgereiland Skate Park
[2020]

The municipality of Amsterdam commissioned Iris Roskam and Arno Coenen for this work of art. Who asked me to create the sketches.

My sketches are a tribute to doodling on notebooks (or really any surface) during tedious lesson at school. A familiar habit that transcends age, social status and generations. The idea to create an outcast sanctuary came from how skaters aren’t always very well loved. For the sketches I was inspired by other social outcasts including pigeons, rodents, spiders, woodlice, and nettles. Strings of pearls and jewels are woven through the design, connecting the outcast with the elite. Viewing the skate park as an organism, the tile surfaces serve as windows into its soul, with the tears in the “skin” that add an extra dimension.

The ballpoint drawings were scanned at the resolution of 1200dpi to be edited and enlarged in Photoshop. The files were then send to Maatwerktegels to undergo the special process of transfers made with ceramic glaze.