Iriée Zamblé and Opperclaes, Birds Eye View of the Works, 2022*

As you walk up the stairs of the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, you look into the eyes of a Black woman gazing directly and confidently back at you. Black bodies have long played a subordinate role in art history, but Birds Eye View of the Works shows that portraits of Black people belong in museums, in art, and that Black lives are part of our society.

This mural is a collaboration between artist Iriée Zamblé (1995) and Linda van der Vleuten and Bruce Tsai-Meu-Chong, together known as Opperclaes (2010), who focused on the patterns for the woman’s clothes and headscarf. These abstract motifs come from various works in the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam collection, sampling and redefining works or images from art history. The work is a therefore a remix, creating a unique wall painting from a cross-pollination of different cultures.

Iriée Zamblé’s work examines the prevailing norms within the genre of painted and drawn portraits, her figures taking their place on the canvas with pride. Zamblé draws inspiration from the everyday street scene as well Afro-Atlantic art and culture. Founded in 2010 by designers Linda van der Vleuten and Bruce Tsai-Meu-Chong, Opperclaes makes large-scale graphic work for public spaces.

Iriée Zamblé (1995) en Opperclaes (2010)
Birds Eye View of  the Works, 2022
Wall paint

Image: Iriée Zamblé and Opperclaes, Birds Eye View of the Works, 2022. Photograph: Gerrit Schreurs