'The Way I See It', an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum

Kristyan was given the full freedom to showcase his lettering work in whichever form represented it most authentically and, for that, the canvas offered by the museum was composed of seven arches of 3.3 x 5.3 meters and two walls of 9.75 x 5.75 meters.

Together with Thomas Castro, the design curator at the museum, Kristyan decided to completely fill the space with his most intricate lettering work to date, creating two 'hallways' of letters. Emphasised by the shape of the arches, the idea was to evoke the feeling of flipping through the pages of an oversized heavily ornamented Arabic manuscript. The visitors are invited to walk through the artwork completely surrounding them from both sides.

After a few months of preparation, 'The Way I See It,...' opened to the public on the 6th of April 2023 and was supposed to be on display until November of the same year. However the museum decided to extend the deadline twice and the exhibition ended up being on display for a little over a year and closed on April 15 2024.

For a more immersive experience, one side of the exhibition was in black and white, while the other was in full colour. All the works shared a common thread: their intricate, meditative dimension and the diverse exploration of writing styles that influenced or inspired them. Each piece draws inspiration from a distinct writing style.

It was truly heartwarming to see visitors of all ages and nationalities—both native and non-native speakers of Arabic script—interact with the artworks, take photos of and with them, and share their experiences with us. Among the most important visitors was, of course, Kristyan's mother. Below is a small collection of these interactions.

An immense thank you to Thomas Castro for the invitation, generous support and total freedom.

Photos by: Peter Tijhuis