‘The mural feels like the skin of the building’

Visual artist Hadassah Emmerich has been working on it for months. A new mural in Langeveld covers the two stairwells with vivid shades and wavy shapes, taking over the preceding silver-grey monotony. But what do the students – who will walk past these coloured walls each day – think of the new artwork?

“The first time I spotted it was actually during the production process”, starts Beatrice, a Finance and Investments student. “It was a late evening when I saw people walking back and forth with a bunch of paint. I wondered, what is going on here? But I think it’s nice to have a pop of colour. Sometimes, when you are in a late-night study shift, it’s really uplifting.”

Cozy vibe

When asked about a specific part of the mural she likes, Beatrice doesn’t know. “I just like the experience walking down the stairs, every single time it changes a bit, you catch a glimpse of a different colour. I also think it’s a nice match with all the plants in Langeveld, adding to the cozy vibe of the building.”

The mural, however, speaks differently to each student. “A mural is a good idea, but I’m not fully sure how I feel about it”, says Roman de Vries, a Fiscal Economy student. I like that it makes makes the building more colourful and a nicer walk on the stairs. However, with art, sometimes it clicks, sometimes it clicks later and other times it just doesn’t. I guess I need more time to understand how I feel about it”, he explains.

Skin

John Jeswanth, a Maritime Economics and Logistics student, has his own interpretation. “The mural feels like the skin of the building. When they were still painting it, I thought the space they were using is really appropriate for that. The colour now brings more light to this place.”

The official inauguration of the mural is on 26 February.