Everyone who goes to the Vredeveld shopping centre in Assen-Oost on an errand is looking for something. In recent weeks, a colourful, metres-high artwork has been erected there. The side of the Dotterbloem apartment was taken care of by Rotterdam artist Nina Valkhof.
“It’s beautiful,” comments a passerby. “I think it’s an asset to the neighborhood. It makes me happy. Besides, it’s much prettier than that boring white wall.”
The mural is certainly colorful. Two trout swim across a dark blue background on which are also painted field grasses and hedgerows. “Those plants are seen as weeds. They’re unwanted, but at the same time they’re incredibly beautiful to see. That makes them very interesting to me.”
The image of the weeds and the trout was not chosen randomly. Valkhoff was inspired by objects from the Drents Museum. “The image of the trout is inspired by the amazing metal artist Johanna van Ebergen. The weeds of course come from Van Gogh’s painting of a farmer burning weeds. The shape of the fish is similar to that of Burhorn Luegster from 1715.”
Valkoff is involved in a national project: “Museum Murals”. Twenty street artists spread across the Netherlands are inspired by the treasures of the museum’s collection. It is an initiative of the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
The red-haired artist is known for her murals filled with plants and animals, and wants to teach people to love and appreciate nature. It’s clear that this is working for the two-year-old boy. “Fish!” he points out animatedly. “He wants to come by here every day,” his mother explains. “Then we’ll see how far I’ve come.”
However, it was much less than Valkov had hoped for. “I usually paint such a large mural in two weeks. In this case, it took me three weeks to do it, because I wanted to discover Assen. I wanted to go to the forest, I wanted to ride a bike. I wanted to be able to take pictures. It’s easy, but because of the constant rain, I’m now suddenly missing nine days of my schedule, so I have to make up for lost time quickly.
The artwork will be unveiled on Friday and will be finished in Dotterbloem’s Rotterdam apartment. She thinks it’s a shame. “Everyone here is so nice and lively! The car windows are open, they’re honking, they’re giving thumbs up: really cool!”