Walls with Paint: Handhoven

In 'Walls with Paint', Eindhoven local, photographer, and art fan Lukedaduke shares the story behind a special street art project in Eindhoven. This month: Handhoven, a work created by renowned duo called Studio Giftig. 

It might sound a little weird, but 2020 was a busy year for the guys of Studio Giftig. The duo from Veldhoven had various commissions, for example, one in the neighboring city Helmond. Their latest mural can be found in Eindhoven at the tunnel on the Vestdijk. 

The city will redevelop the area around the 'Vestdijktunnel' in the years ahead. The Station Square, the Beursgebouw, and the central bus station will also get a new look.

The tunnel at the Vestdijk lies precisely in between all those development plans and might be the best-known tunnel in the city.

Eindhoven wanted to revamp the tunnel with the help of a mural but without the Eindhoven stereotypes. That meant no PSV, no ‘040’, no Eindhoven skyline a different representation of the city of Eindhoven.

Studio Giftig made a proposition: Eindhoven is a working-class city by origin, which was the mural's base. Working gloves, a knight's hand armor, and a VR Glove refer to a bit of the Eindhoven history or present.

The symbolic worth of the tunnel Vestdijk is also reinforced; it's the connecting part between the south and north of the city.