On the Hunt with Erwin Tommissen in Hasselt, BE
It’s been a while but here we are with another hunterview, this time we talked to Erwin Tommissen who started hunting in Genk early 2022. Since joining he gradually extended his hunting grounds to nearby cities Maaseik, As and his hometown Hasselt.
1. Who?
I live in Hasselt, Belgium. In daily life I am a secondary school teacher of Dutch and English.
2. Where?
I am a hunter for my hometown Hasselt, but in addition I also monitor street art in the neighbouring cities of Genk, As, Dilsen and Maaseik. It’s great that I can take care of several cities, and thus help put street art in the province of Belgian Limburg on the map.
Street art literally and figuratively gives color and warmth to society.
3. The Beginning?
My passion for the street art scene started in Hasselt, which shouldn’t be surprising since while strolling through our inner city you spontaneously come face to face with monumental murals by world-renowned artists. The first mural I spontaneously discovered was ROA’s gigantic owl, still one of my absolute favourite works in Hasselt. (in september 2020 the great news came that this landmark will be preserved with all the real estate plans going on there)
Thanks to the Street Art Cities app, I then started looking for and photographing all the street art in Hasselt, then sharing the photos on my Instagram page (@erwintommissen). My photos were immediately noticed and appreciated. I am a member of Graffiti KREW (@graffitikrew), an international photography collective that compiles the work of the best graffiti photographers.
The fact that I am now a hunter myself for Hasselt, where everything started, completes the circle nicely. I’m proud to show visitors the way to the most beautiful street art in my city and silently enjoy when I pass visitors in the city centre using the Street Art Cities app.
I still find it particularly interesting to see the reactions of passersby. When you see how enthusiastically they often react to an accidentally discovered mural or an artist at work in their neighbourhood, you realize the impact street art can have on everyday life. Street art literally and figuratively gives color and warmth to society.
4. The Difference
Hasselt has, thanks to the pioneering work of Kurt Bosmans (formerly Street Art Festival, now SAGA), an immense array of street art by renowned artists. The list is almost endless, but I would definitely like to mention Smug, Insane51, Roa, Telmo Miel, Studio Giftig, Mr. Cenz, James Cochran, Pichi Avo and Belin.
In addition, we also have local artists such as Ben Peeters, Philip Bosmans and B-art who, from time to time, apply graffiti of their own, Limburg soil to the ‘Walls of honour’.
By the way, may I advise you, if you are going to explore Hasselt’s street art, to stop in the neighbouring cities as well? After all, there are great discoveries to be made there too. Or how about Smug and Millo in Genk, Dvate and Norm Abartig in As, Case Maclaim and Gijs Vanhee in Dilsen-Stokken and Belin and Studio Giftig in Maaseik?
5. Favorite Gear
My photos are mostly taken with my smartphone, but I secretly dream of having a drone to capture large murals in their full glory and detail.
6. Style vs challenge
I always post pictures of the finished mural and its surroundings. I am also very interested in the creation process of a wall. As soon as I know that an artist is working nearby, I pass by as often as possible to admire the evolution of the work.
After all, a mural becomes even more beautiful when you can later recall the process of its creation. So I always share photos of this on Street Art Cities and on my Instagram page.
In Hasselt I recently spent several days watching TelmoMiel at work on our newest street art gem ‘Drink safe, think of me’, but I was also there, for example, when Smug, Patrick Croes, Eva Lynen, Collin van der Sluijs and Insane 51 were working with paint and spray cans. It gives you more insight into the paint techniques used, and most of all, you get to know the person behind the artist.
In addition to my photographs, I also pay the necessary attention to my texts, which are getting longer and longer… I always try — in Dutch and English — to give a short biography of the artist in question and also to offer more info on the process of creation and the exact meaning of a work.
7. Any crazy adventures?
So far I haven’t had to run away from the police, and it’s best to keep it that way….
8. Don’t miss!
I would definitely put the giant mural (450m²!) by Smug, the split-new mural by Telmo Miel and the works by Insane51, Studio Giftig, James Cochran, Mr. Cenz, Pichi Avo, Super A, Zenk One and Belin at the top of my list. In addition, be sure to check out the work of our Belgian artists Roa, Dzia and Smates.
For the more daring among you, I recommend an abandoned factory in Kermt, on which several works were installed during ‘Step out of the Arena’ in 2O17, a collaboration between Street Art Festival and Eindhoven’s ‘Step In The Arena’ festival.
Meanwhile, nature has taken its course, so the works by HNRX, Mr. Woodland and others are particularly difficult to reach. However, those who are not put off by nettles and thorny bushes will get great street art in an urbex environment in return.
9. Crush?!
My absolute Belgian crush is of course Roa, incredible how obsessively he studies his painted animals and then applies them to walls in his completely unique way in just about every part of the world.
The foreign artists who fascinate me most at the moment are Jasmin Siddiqui and Falk Lehmann of Herakut. The combination of their images, use of colour and messages always produces gems. I secretly dream of one day being able to admire street art by them in Hasselt.
10. Collections?
I am a big music lover who often attends concerts and also collects vinyl records from a variety of genres. In addition to the flawless sound of vinyl records, I am also fascinated by vinyl record covers where you can admire all the details. Record sleeves are an art form in themselves, which is unfortunately in danger of disappearing a bit with the digitization of the music world.
Photography is another passion. I collect photo books, visit photo exhibitions and admire the work of Stephan Vanfleteren and Anton Corbijn, among others. Books about street art, of course, I can never leave in the bookstore either. ‘Codex’; by Roa is one of my absolute favourites.
11. Street Art Cities….
I find it particularly exciting how Street Art Cities has been able to grow into such an important, international platform. A global community kept up-to-date by local, passionate specialists. Hopefully our passion is contagious and we can convince as many people as possible to delve into street art. A great art form for which you don’t have to go to a museum, but which you can admire on the streets every day.
Be sure to give me a call when you pass by Hasselt. I’ll be happy to give you a tour of the city’s most impressive street art.
12. Any last words?
Keep on hunting of course!
Check out Hasselt map and the nearby cities in our app and look for his uploads and follow him.
Street Art Cities is ‘the world’s street art platform’, a global community of art lovers, artists, galleries, festivals and city wanderers building the world’s biggest street art map. You can find over 53.000 locations in + 1500 cities in the world, find ’em all the with the free Street Art Cities app (available on iOS and Play store). They also offer services to assist citymarketeers and tourist departements to tap into the rising popularity for street art.
