Jordy van den Nieuwendijk's alter ego explored in Freunde von Freunden profile

Date
28 January 2015

Dutch artist and illustrator Jordy van den Nieuwendijk is a 24-carat It’s Nice That favourite. We’ve featured his work multiple times (both online and in print), he’s spoken at our events, heck he’s even been for lunch at our studio (he had a baked potato).

But despite all this I still learned quite a lot about him when the brilliant Freunde von Freunden went to his apartment in The Hague to profile him. Not least that for a long time Jordy worked under the alter ego Superoboturbo (he NEVER mentioned this over his baked potato).

“As I often worked in the same style and colour palette, drawing a lot of characters and robots, I decided my real name didn’t really fit this drawing style,” he tells FvF in an interview that went live this morning. “When I noticed that people really responded to it well, it boosted my ego and the whole thing became bigger and bigger.

“At some point I even started wearing clothes that made me feel and act like I actually was Superoboturbo. The trouble began when I tried to figure out who and what I was or wanted to do at the academy. My alter ego Superoboturbo had exhibitions and assignments, while Jordy van den Nieuwendijk was having the biggest trouble in art school.

“As I was failing at the Academy, not showing up, missing deadlines, etc, I focussed more and more on my alter ego. He was becoming the bigger part of me. I became jealous of him as he was successful, while I was struggling in school. So at the end of my studies I decided to kill Superoboturbo.”

His graduation project thus became Superobotubo’s funeral, complete with a three-headed-phallus-topped-coffin and stained glass memorials of the man himself. “To me it felt like the worst breakup ever,” he says. “I was really down for a while.”

It’s well worth reading the whole piece over on the FvF site and take the time to enjoy the excellent photography of Jordi Huisman too.

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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Jordi Huisman: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk for Freunde von Freunden

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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