Mural: Navine G. Dossos – State of Siege (2015)
State of Siege (2015) is a forty-metre mural by the British artist Navine G. Dossos, permanently installed at Maastricht University’s Tapijn campus. Commissioned by the university’s Art and Heritage Committee (KEC), the work decorates the walls of EDLAB, Maastricht University's Centre for Teaching & Learning, housed in a former military barracks just outside the old city walls.
From military grounds to learning spaces
The Tapijn barracks have a long and layered history. They served as a training ground for the 13th Infantry Regiment (1919–1940), a camp during the German Occupation (1940–1944), a base for troops departing for Indonesia (1945–1950), and later as a NATO facility until 2010. The building that now houses EDLAB was once used for military training. Today, it is dedicated to research, innovation and development in higher education.
A mural rooted in history and tradition
Dossos’ mural draws on the architecture, history and context of the site, alongside influences from Islamic art and geometric abstraction. Her work reflects both her training in Islamic art history and her engagement with the visual patterns of contemporary digital culture.
The mural also responds to the figure of General Dibbets (1782–1839), whose tomb lies within the Tapijn grounds. Remembered for his determination to keep Maastricht within the Netherlands rather than Belgium, his legacy has remained divisive. Locals famously expressed their disapproval by desecrating his grave. The title State of Siege alludes to these contested memories as well as the shifting identity of the place.
Colour, rhythm and structure
The mural incorporates the bright palette of Maastricht’s carnival, linking the city’s festive spirit with the sober surroundings of the former barracks. Its design also references the Polonceau truss, a 19th-century architectural innovation that made large, light-filled spaces possible with minimal materials. This structural rhythm is echoed in the geometric forms of the mural.
About the artist
Born in 1982 in the UK as Vanessa Hodgkinson, Navine G. Dossos studied History of Art at Cambridge, Arabic in Kuwait, Islamic Art at the Prince’s School of Traditional Art, and completed her Master’s in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art & Design. She now lives and works in Athens. Her practice is rooted in Islamic art and history, reinterpreted through a language of geometric abstraction that connects past traditions with the digital patterns of contemporary life.