Passionate about art, frequent visitor of exhibitions, Widewalls photography specialist.
When it comes to the 2019 edition of The Crystal Ship festival in Oostende, I can only say – very well done. This Belgian town once again affirms itself as one of the top street art destinations on the planetary level, with over 50 extraordinary murals adorning its walls and streets. Ostend and The Crystal Ship continue to complement and support each other, and the result is a remarkable project and an exciting experience for everyone involved.
Under the theme of The Dictatorship of Art introduced for the first time on the occasion of the festival’s fourth edition, The Crystal Ship brought together some of the most brilliant street art names out there. On our second day at the festival, we talked to curator Bjørn Van Poucke about the selection process of these artists and what it is that makes this particular event special and different from others.
In my humble opinion, one of those things is that, aside from the wall paintings popping up at various locations of this not-so-small town, The Crystal Ship is dedicated to developing other means of public art. In 2019, they had a partnership with the pupils of the Ensor Institute who created a painting themselves; they had Crystal Wagner install a great big piece inside a shopping mall; The Bar Bar had stenciled insects crawling across the city; Wasted Rita put up some great street signs (you can see all of them here); and Helen Bur painted small portraits of residents and friends in different spots everywhere.
It is also great to see an almost equal number of female artists in the festival’s line-up, and we can count on it being the case again in the future.
Below, find the images of artworks from The Crystal Ship Ostend 2019. In the captions, you can also find more information about the artists and the works.
Portraits of curator Bjorn Van Poucke (left) and photographer Henrik Haven with his daughter (right) created by Helen Bur. Image by WidewallsPortraits of artists David Walker (left) and Jaune (right) by Helen Bur. Image by WidewallsHelen Bur went around Oostende, asking the residents if they would like to be portrayed. Image by WidewallsAll of the portraits Helen Bur has done for The Crystal Ship depict people from behind, and the demand for them was high! Image by WidewallsArtist Miss Van and her boyfriend by Helen Bur. Photo by Egmond DobbelaereHelen Bur at The Crystal Ship Ostend 2019. Collage by Egmond DobbelaereCase Maclaim’s mural on the wall of Ron’s Pub, of a man he met inside. Image by WidewallsCrystal Wagner’s installation inside the Feest- & Culture Shopping Mall. The installation took nine days to build and install, and it is made of recyclable kite material. Image by WidewallsDavid Walker’s wall. Image by WidewallsEscif’s nod to Tintin and his dog. Image by WidewallsEscif’s “Save the Planet” mural, using a “cute and fluffy dog” to convey an important message on global warming. Image by WidewallsJaune painting. You can see his entire wall here. Photo by Egmond DobbelaereLonac painted this everyday scene from his hometown of Zagreb, Croatia. Photo by Egmond DobbelaereMarina Capdevila’s coctail-enjoying grandma, breaking the stereotypes about older generations. Courtesy The Crystal ShipMiss Van’s portrait. Image by WidewallsMohamed L’Ghacham’s wall, once again highlighting the importance of human relationships and the things that bind us together. Courtesy The Crystal ShipTom Herck’s 5 Euro bill origami-ed inside a bottle to resemble a war ship. Courtesy The Crystal Ship3D street artist Leon Keer in Progress. The three vases convey the effects of global warming and should be seen from a certain perspective for full effect. Photo by Egmond DobbelaereThe 40-meter tall mural by Paola Delfin in Progress, depicting The Crystal Ship team and the building caretaker (top). Photo by Egmond Dobbelaere
