Growing up in a small town just outside of Pittsburgh, a group of friends and I use to break into abandoned buildings; steel mills, mental hospitals, factories, the creepier the better. What the hell else is there to do when you’re seventeen?! When I saw the work of Dutch street artist Daan Botlek, I was immediately transported back to a time when running around in the dark and getting weird was a weekend ritual.
Botlek’s work is delightfully bizarre, yet incredibly playful. His images are not meant to be beautiful. Rather, the ghostly figures tell an intricately crafted story spread out across an urban playground. Each piece he creates is full of mystery, tragedy, escape, and freedom. His ability to create staggering imagery using architectural elements give his work a three dimensional look that is utterly fantastic.
His most recent project in Berlin had Daan’s black and white figures roaming around an abounded train station helping each other climb all over the building. Look out for more of Botlek’s work. He has a few projects coming up in Rotterdam, Leipzig, Mulhouse, Fürstenfeld, and probably Bangkok again.
