Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018

Posted by Donna on 9th June, 2018
Filed under: From the Street

We last saw the The Crystal Ship in Ostend for their annual street art festival in April. They have been busy again in Belgium, this time sailing their street art crew to the city of Dendermonde.

Dendermonde is a city in East Flanders. The small-sized city has about 45,000 inhabitants. It is strategically located between the bigger cities of Ghent, Mechelen and Brussels.

The Six Artists invited to paint the city for ‘Kaleidoscope’ were David Walker, Jaune, Low Bros, Oli-B, Joachim and Joëlle Dubois. They painted five murals and left 20 interventions around the city…

Berlin-based artist duo The Low Bros comprises of brothers Christoph and Florin Schmidt, formerly known by their aliases Qbrk and Nerd. Their instantly recognisable geometric characters on walls and canvases often features anthropomorphic animals in sideways hats, sunglasses or starter jackets. They deconstruct animal imagery, changing the heads of animals such as wolves and tigers into block-like, architectural formations reminiscent of deconstructed graffiti letters.

Low Bros, Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018. Photo Credit Henrik Haven

Hailing from London, David Walker is a highly-talented artist whose career has been on a steady rise since he began exhibiting his work. The English artist has created an inimitable style of amazing, colour-explosive and chaotic female character portraits using only spray cans without any aid of stencils or brushes. His outstanding wall pieces and studio works are often blended through as colours drip or mix.

David Walker, Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018. Photo Credit Henrik Haven

Garbage men are present every day in our lives. We meet them all the time, dressed in the fluorescent clothes, but in spite of that, they seem to be invisible. As the part of the urban environment, in Jaune’s work they are leaving their jobs and getting into funny, absurd adventures. Instead of cleaning, they are making the mess, climbing the buildings, throwing the garbage bags. Jaune inverts different everyday occasions, giving them a new meaning.

Jaune, Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018. Photo Credit Henrik Haven

Oli-B is a painter, illustrator and artist from Brussels. With abstract and figurative forms in vivid colors, Oli-B sets the boundaries of his extraordinary universe. A mix between fantasy and harmony. There is a wonderful coherence of architecturally arranged surfaces that are part of a larger surprising whole. Every time your attention is shifted, so that you always discover new elements.

Oli B, Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018. Photo Credit Henrik Haven

Joachim is a young, productive and very talented artist from Lier. His striking graffiti pop art style is impossible to ignore. He is known for his childlike spontaneity and is prepared to experiment with a wide range of styles. With multiple wall paintings to his name, sold out prints and exhibitions throughout Europe, including London last year. Joachim earned his reputation within the international art scene.

Joachim, Kaleidoscope Street Art Festival, Dendermonde, Belgium 2018. Photo Credit Henrik Haven

Joëlle Dubois is an illustrator and artist from Ghent. Playful use of colour and a portion of humour characterise Joëlle Dubois and she investigates the use and impact of social media. The playfulness and the improvising character in her images refer both to the abundance and the volatile character of all images that circulate on these media. Joëlle Dubois highlights the attractive superficiality of uncritical consumption.