Mexican calligraffiti artist Said Dokins and photographer Leonardo Luna recently visited The Netherlands, in coordination with the Amsterdam Urban Art Museum and Street Art Today, as part of a new project. Traveling between cities such as Radio Kootwijk, Landgraaf, Heerlen, Arnhem and Amsterdam, the project, titled Heliographies of Memory, presents a series of luminous paintings set against the backdrop of historic buildings and iconic sites.
About the Series
Heliographies of Memory uses light and movement to explore the concept of displaced memory and nostalgia. Situated amongst sites of symbolic value such as public plazas, monuments, bulwarks, and abandoned compounds, the artist seeks to address themes of power, destruction, and control, particularly imposed by both historic and contemporary regimes.
These ephemeral installations of light are captured by Luna in a series of photographs, detailing the flow of Dokin’s resplendent brush.
Starting out in the woods of the isolated village of Radio Kootwijk, they began with an abandoned building which was a former communications complex during World World 2. Another dilapidated landmark they chose was Castle Schaesberg. A fortress surrounded by a moat’s remains, it is the oldest castle in Landgraaf.
Upon spending a week in Heerlen, a city composed of ancient, modern and avant-garde architecture, the team was inspired to do two installations. One, in the city center, set between three buildings of emblematic of different eras in the nation’s history, and the other in the former mining district, now called Parkstad Limburg.
In Arnhem, they illuminated the remains of The Airborne Monument, a damaged column that belongs to the Justice Palace. Dedicated to the fallen soldiers of Operation Market Garden a prominent battle in World War 2., The photo includes an inscription of the mission’s date: “17 September 1944.”
Their last stop was in Amsterdam-Noord, to an old industrial area across the IJ river – significant in that the neighborhood is currently being gentrified. In recent years, the district has given rise to an urban revival along the river shore with hotels, restaurants, galleries and museums. The natives that have lived there through generations in social care housing feel every day more disconnected to their community.
About the Artist
Said Dokins lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico. He studied Visual Arts and Philosophy at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), a background which has influenced his work. A master of calligraffiti, a practice that combines inscriptions and graffiti, Dokins work have been inspired by medieval and Japanese calligraphy. Beyond his own work, he’s curated projects related to urban arts and contemporary political issues. His art has been shown nationally and internationally in countries like Spain, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, Peru among others. Dokins continues to show an urban endurance amongst change through his work and projects.
