99 tekeningen voor homofilie, Parijs maart '66 - Tjebbe van Tijen

A 1966 series of ninety-nine gestural ink drawings by Tjebbe van Tijen, exploring human intimacy through a structured, rhythmic grid of purple and orange vignettes.

Produced in Paris during March 1966, this work by Dutch artist Tjebbe van Tijen presents a grid of ninety-nine individual vignettes. Each small rectangular cell contains a gestural drawing depicting intimate human interaction. The artist employs a restricted palette of purple and orange ink, which creates a rhythmic visual structure across the page. The figures are rendered with minimal, fluid lines, focusing on the physical connection between bodies rather than anatomical precision.

Van Tijen, known for his work in cybernetics and social activism, created this series as a direct engagement with the social and political climate of the mid-1960s. The title, which translates to '99 drawings for homophilia', situates the work within the context of the emerging gay rights movement in Europe. By organising these sketches into a systematic, repetitive grid, the artist removes the individual subjects from a narrative context, instead presenting them as a collective expression of identity and desire. The repetition of the rectangular frames suggests a serial approach common in the conceptual art practices of the era, where the arrangement of images is as important as the content within them.

This print captures the raw, immediate quality of the original ink drawings. The contrast between the dark purple blocks and the lighter orange accents provides a sense of balance, while the varying density of the lines keeps the eye moving across the composition. It is a document of a specific time and place, reflecting the artist's interest in human behaviour and social structures. The work remains a significant example of how graphic art was used to document and support social causes during the 1960s, maintaining a clear, unadorned aesthetic that prioritises the clarity of the message.