“My expectations for Hong Kong were a bit mixed. I knew what I could expect, but also not really. I knew Hong Kong is changing fast and I just wanted to experience the city to the fullest. I was really looking forward to traveling again. and eating great food, meeting new people and participating in the HKWalls festival. The thing what ended making the most impression on me was the scale and the density of the city. The of juxtaposition of the grime and glamour and the combination of the tropical climate mixed with metropolitan architecture. It’s such a perfect mix between east and west. The local people I met during my stay made it even better. Because of them I didn’t really feel like a tourist. Overall my experience of the city exceeded my expectations. There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t thought about Hongkong since I came home.

Before my trip there I heard a lot about “The old Hong Kong disappearing” and things of that nature. But I’m guessing that’s happening around the world. Everything changes, the only constant is change. This was the main focus of the mural I painted during the HKWalls festival and also found its way into my print. For the print I added another layer which is a collage that I made from found materials during my trip. Street posters, flyers I ripped off the wall, but also a receipt I got at the airport when they lost my luggage. All these different elements that tell the story of my time in HK. Personally, this feels like the first time I successfully combined my two different visual languages and I’m super happy with the result.”

The printing process

Saturday, March 21, 2026

After arriving in Hongkong late last night, without my suitcase (got held by security in Shanghai due to a camera battery) the first thing I had to do was get some clean clothes. All I had was a pair of thermal pants and a hoody. After 24hrs of travel and with these temperatures that wasn’t going to work. So Uniqlo it is.

After getting all the essentials and getting ready I took the train from Tsim Sha Tsui to go check out the venue where this year’s HKWalls festival is being held; PMQ. The venue is located in Central, so after a quick train ride I get out in the middle of Hong Kong’s chaos. The amount of people, the skyscrapers, the traffic and the humidity; its all a bit overwhelming and impressive at the same time. I walk to the venue and meet all the people from the festival. I see the truck I’m painting in the coming days and get all my materials sorted. In the evening there’s an official HKWalls opening party with an Art Battle and (too much) free beer.

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Slightly hungover. Woke up in my hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. Luckily the hotel is very nice and has a great breakfast buffet. I get an email from the airport saying I can come pick up my suitcase, so I take an uber to the airport. After what seems like an extremely overcomplicated process through office buildings, security checks and paperwork, I finally get my suitcase back and I take an uber back to the hotel. It’s now 1pm and I make my way back over to PMQ to start working on my truck.

The first few days of working on a mural (or truck in this case) usually consist of gridding out the surface and making sure the sketch I prepared beforehand is adjusted to size. After getting this done, I try to combat my still lingering hangover with a “hair of the dog” beer, and that seems to be working. I meet a lot of the other artists that are painting near me at PMQ and after a few hours of work we all head out to diner. Beef brisket noodles!

Monday, March 23, 2026

The next two days were pretty uneventful in terms of adventure. I really wanted to push to get my painting done as soon as possible, so I worked pretty hard these days. Breakfast at the hotel > head over to PMQ > paint all day > diner > repeat. On day 3 my friend/manager arrived in HK, so that was super fun to have him here and made my life a little easier at times.

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

The end of my painting was in sight. Today the organization is moving my truck to a small parking lot next to my hotel. This doesn’t happen until 12 noon, so in the morning I have some time to go painting with the local graffiti guys! Super cool experience. We drive for about 20 minutes from our hotel and meet up in a parking lot with a bunch of local graffiti writers. I was instructed to wear long sleeves and pants if I don’t want to get annihilated by mosquitoes. We walk up a hill, climb a small fence and hop into no mans land. An underpass/ditch that is completely abandoned, but apparently serves as one of many spots the locals paint frequently. We paint for about an hour, I do a super quick piece and spend the rest of the time taking photos. After everyone is finished we head back to the car park and I can finally switch my trusted thermal pants back to shorts. One of the young graffiti writers (shoutout to SHOCK!) gives us a ride back to the hotel, where I am greeted by “my” truck to be finished. It is now around 1pmIt’s a super hot day and the sun is absolutely scorching while I try to finish my painting. I get it done in a few hours and the last touches are done with an incredible start of a sunset and the Hong Kong skyline in the background.

After finishing everyone goes to freshen up and we go for an incredible boat ride in the evening. The boat ride takes us along the Hongkong waterfront to an immense LED screen, where a selection of international artist have their animations played as part of the HKWalls festival. A few hours on the water, quite a few beers deep, we all go to an afterparty that’s being held on an insane rooftop terrace that is somehow part of an art gallery as well. Insane views, great art by Vhils and Cleon Peterson (two Jaunt alumni!) and after that its time for bed.

Thursday, March 26, 2026

My first day off. The work is done. It’s time to explore the city for a little bit. Tomorrow is already my last day, so I want to get everyone back home some gifts and just wander around. We visit the big market in Mongkok and get super overstimulated in what can only be described as worlds most intense store; DonDonDonki. I can’t even explain it. You just have to experience it yourself.

In the afternoon we meet up with a friend of mine who is living in HK and she takes us on a great hike “up the peak” The humidity is pretty intense so we arrive at the peak completely soaked in sweat, but the views are definitely worth it. In the evening we grab dinner and take the iconic star ferry back to Tsim Sha Tsui. Exhausted.

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Last day! Im stressing the F out, because all my gift buying attempts have been unsuccessful so far. So I have a list of stuff to get. And since I got a bunch of gifts myself from the locals, and the clothes I had to get on the first day, I even need to buy an extra suitcase to take all this stuff back. So unfortunately I had to skip Art Basel and get all this stuff done. Halfway through the day we meet up with the owner of the truck I painted. He tried putting a clear coat on the truck to protect the painting, but that didn’t go as planned. So I need to do some touch ups last minute. I felt really bad for the guy as he couldn’t stop apologizing. Got that done, got all the gifts, got my bags packed and ready.

Tomorrow morning my flight leaves at 7am. Which means I have to be at the airport at 5am. Which means I have to leave the hotel at 4/4:30am. I might as well just stay up and not sleep… Right? We go out to a last dinner with the locals. Its amazing. The food is great. I learn about this thing called “battle bowls.” Its a small bowl made of Chinese ceramic with blue painted motifs. You fill it up with beer and once you finish it the bottom of the bowl reads “you won” in Chinese. Amazing. After dinner we head out to another bar, and then another bar and I think another bar after that. Then hotel, uber, airport and the worst 12hours of travel ever. Never doing that again. Happy to get some sleep on the plane and arrive back at Schiphol. Rainy, wet and cold, but happy to get back home to my family. All in all an insane experience, which I still think about every day and probably will for a long time to come. Hopefully I will be able to go back some day, but in the mean time we still have the memories.