13 November–23 December 2004 / Casco HQ
Opening Saturday 13 November at 17:00 with the lecture Soccershirts & Representation, in which Gottschal and Schuster provide insight into their research and present a number of design proposals.
Now the 2004 European Cup is behind us and the Dutch football team has made a fresh start with a new coach, the team has undergone a change of identity. But what about the Dutch team’s kit? Everyone has something to say about football, but the orange shirt (national tricot) often remains undiscussed. Who determines what the strip looks like and what it stands for?
Over the years, the representative function of football jerseys has changed radically. They now seldom merely represent a national or local identity. Due to enormous public attention and the role of football in the media the jersey has proved eminently suitable as a marketing tool. No longer is the expression of (national) identity the determining factor but recognizability and visibility of the sponsors.
At Casco’s invitation, designer Maaike Gottschal and artist Uli Schuster have spent the past few months examining the contemporary representations of the football jersey, which will now be presented under the title Orange shirts. Gottschal and Schuster regard this confusion surrounding the shirt’s functions as an opportunity to reassemble the various elements. Can, for example: multicultural identity, the total football philosophy, the penalty trauma or a phenomenon like Johan Cruijff, inspire a new design proposal?
