Exploring Rosalie de Graaf; reshaping the dynamics of urban environments
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2025-07-01
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en
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This thesis explores the spatial and cultural agency of Rosalie de Graaf’s street art, focusing on how her (hyper)realistic murals reshape urban life in Dutch cities. De Graaf, working under the name RoosArt, is a self-taught street artist known for blending realistic technical mastery with a distinctly feminine public persona, strategically navigating a male-dominated scene. Drawing from Henri Lefebvre’s triad of perceived, conceived, and lived space, and enriched by psychogeography and atmospheric theory, the study combines visual analysis, urban ethnography, and a semi-structured interview with the artist herself to examine how her murals act as more than artistic expressions. They become emotional landmarks and cultural interventions. Centring on three works: See No Color in Zwolle’s Holtenbroek and two historical murals in Doetinchem, the research reveals how her art navigates between institutional frameworks and embedded community presence, reactivating memory, challenging spatial norms, and amplifying overlooked voices. Ultimately, the study shows that De Graaf’s murals transform public walls into powerful spatial narratives, challenging norms, reclaiming histories, and reimagining the lived experience of urban space.
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