Hedof is a Dutch street artist who designed a T-shirt together with Ayu (10) from Lombok. The proceeds will be used to renovate her school.
Hedof is a highly acclaimed Dutch street artist. But when Rick Berkelmans, the artist behind the successful Dutch one-man creative studio Hedof, was approached by our foundation Face This for contributing to this good cause he did not hesitate. Face This linked Hedof to 10-year old Ayu, a pupil from Lombok, Indonesia. Both Rick and Ayu made their creative contribution to the T-shirt. And without knowing each other, they turned out to be a dream team. Hedof explains why he wanted to work with Face This and why he and Ayu were such a good match.
In the video below, you can see how this T-shirt has been created. From the first strikes of Ayu’s pen to the work of Hedof…
Who is Hedof?
Hedof is a known Dutch illustrator. His work can be defined as layered, striking, colourful and surreal but also clever and positive. At the same time his creations can be recognized by illustrations that are well balanced and full of character. Nowadays Hedof finds his inspiration everywhere. This varies from Henri Matisse to Russian children’s book illustrations. As a kid Hedof already felt the urge of creating: “As a young boy I played with my food and I built sculptures using anything I could find in the backyard. Growing older this evolved into making graffiti artwork which resulted in the work I do today: illustrations. But one thing has remained the same over the years, the work I produce is created by hand and speaks a visual language.”
Hedof is everywhere
Hedof’s positive attitude is reflected in his work and has been noticed by many. The artwork he makes results in receiving many assignments from all over the world, ranging from magazines, products, advertising campaigns, installations and huge walls. He also works on editorial pieces as well as large-scale murals, clothing brands and posters.
Ayu loves to hang out at the pier to watch the sunset
Hedof’s list of clients is impressive and includes companies like Nike, The New York Times, Nickelodeon, Ikea, Samsung, KLM Airlines, Nestle, Red Bull, Playstation, Snapchat, Esso, WeTransfer, Google, Heineken, Greenpeace and Facebook. Even though Hedof’s portfolio is filled with big names, one of his most recent challenges was to create a Face This T-shirt using a kid’s drawing. On the question if he had ever worked with a kid’s drawing before Hedof answers: “This is the first time I create an illustration based on a drawing by a child, but in a way one can discover many similarities between my style and the way kids create art.”
Sunset at Senggigi
Hedof immediately agreed to work with Face This. As it gave him the chance to work for a good cause as well as work with people from the other side of the globe. Hedof commented on his unique collaboration with the young Ayu: “Kids are super crazy creative. They own a creativity we adults lose while growing up. It is exactly that kind of creativity I try to search for in my daily work.” One of the drawings made by Ayu that I received showed a favourite moment of hers: Sunset at Senggigi, the pier at the beach of her hometown.” Hedof decided to turn the sunset image into an illustration. During the creative process Hedof was challenged to maintain and respect Ayu’s voice without losing his own strong and recognizable voice. Finally the sunset at Singgigi was captured on a T-shirt for the Face This 2019 collection. This Tee shows a successful co-creation of two strangers.
