Walk of The Town (Work in progress):

Serie of ten sculptural works for the city of Nijmegen (NL)

It squirms, it dances, it lives, and it leads. The Walk of the Town is an adventure route throughout the city of Nijmegen, passing by cultural hotspots, historical and iconic buildings with marvelous views. It takes you on a journey to the most exciting places of Nijmegen. Whether it is a time capsule in a park, ahead on a city gate, or secret underground tunnels, with the Walk of the Town you’ll see it all. Just follow the line and see where it takes you!

Throughout this year, artist Niels van Bunningen will design, create and place 10 artworks along the Walk of the Town route. The artworks will all be linked to the history of Nijmegen. The first piece of art en route can be seen in the Piersonstraat. It refers to the Pierson Riots. In the background, you find an abstract police officer. In the front, one of the houses that was torn down, symbolizing the togetherness of the protestors.

Niels says: "This project has given me the opportunity to get to know the city I already had a strong bond with a little better. This city with its strict rulers, hard-working Kaaijsjouwers and hard-drinking students. The sculptures I am going to make will be connected to locations that played a role in important events in the history of Nijmegen. This history will cover the prehistoric era, the Romans, Middle Ages, the days as a fortress city and all the steps to becoming the modern Nijmegen with its identity of tolerance and an open environment for people with different backgrounds and lifestyles.

My challenge in creating the designs of the ten sculptures was to make them as diverse as possible without diminishing the cohesive feel of the series. The tone of the sculptures varies; critical, hopeful, dramatic and funny. They should depict just enough that the viewer will be challenged to want to learn more about the story behind it.

For my materials, I chose corten and galvanised steel. To make them recognisable, the sculptures will all be made with a 2D, handmade plasma cut corten steel backgrounds and 3D sculpted elements made from galvanised steel. These industrial materials will blend in well with their surroundings: one rusty brown, and the other grey like stone.

more info:
https://en.intonijmegen.com/discover/highlights/walk-of-the-town
https://en.intonijmegen.com/discover/highlights/walk-of-the-town/niels