Synaesthesia Magazine Cities | Page 43

Amsterdam is a city with a reputation for being the hub of liberalism, prostitution, drugs and clogs, and is the source of many a good story, to say the least. As I roamed the city’s cobbled, winding streets, it became apparent that this was a city of culture and art, not just a city of drugs and debauchery, of which it has become infamous for to those with an untrained eye.

As I navigated this bohemian, laid back city on foot and by bicycle, I had a crash course in graffiti and street collage. This was definitely some of the best graffiti I have seen throughout my time travelling! As Moss (my best friend) and I were crossing the city’s tram, cycle and waterways in search of a traditional backstreet continental café, I was stopped in my tracks. I was captivated by this breathtaking piece of graffiti of a beautiful woman’s face on the side of a lucky home owner’s wall/outdoor exhibition space. I had to take the time to capture this illegal masterpiece, so I spent the next fifteen minutes encapsulated, photographing this urban Rembrandt.

I seemed to be the only human and concrete explorer in the nearby vicinity who seemed to acknowledge this beauty’s presence; many Dutch and travellers passed her by as though she did not exist!