Street Art Cities

Commissioned by the shopping center management, Joep van Gassel created this mural. There is a clear link to the dna of Waalwijk's shoe and leather industry. The sneaker teems with clues. A monastery with a chapel used to be near this spot . Therefore, the coloured areas of the sneaker are separated by black lines like stained glass windows.
Only one shoe, but in fact it is divided into four segments, each with its own color pattern. The four parts represent the different shoe manufacturers that Waalwijk had (and has). A sneaker was chosen because it is a modern shoe and a very popular shoe. Waalwijk may have almost no shoe industry anymore, but shoes are still being designed here. 

A few years ago, van Gassel painted a jay with an acorn in its beak at the Mozartlaan in Waalwijk. Also a reference to the leather industry. Oak bark was used to tan leather. That oak tree is also reflected in the sneaker; small oak trees that the artist stenciled in a patch of colour. And also the leather logo. Even the little clouds he used to create a pattern have an underlying idea: ''Wolk (Dutch for cloud) = Wolluk (how the name of Waalwijk is spoken in dialect).'' The artist has really thought this through.