'Week in, week uit' (1992).
Joost Veerkamp (Josephus Hermannus Veerkamp) was born in Diemen, and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. He has worked in several artistic fields, varying from comics to illustration and silkscreens. His work is done in a Clear Line style and shows the artist's passion for architecture. His admiration for Hergé is reflected in the many 'Tintin' pastiches he drew, all with permission of Hergé's estate Moulinsart, by the way. 'Shuttle To The Moon' is a parody of 'Destination Moon' and references the 1986 Challenger disaster, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded mid-air, killing all astronauts inside. 'L'Encre de Chine' is a parody of 'The Blue Lotus' and pays homage to Hergé's masterful use of Chinese ink. The same image was later used on the cover of Harry Thompson's biography of Hergé: 'Tintin: Hergé and his Creation' (1991). 'Het Zwarte Goud' uses the same title and image of 'The Black Gold' to reference the 1991 Gulf War, with U.S. President George Bush Sr. and a captured Saddam Hussein travelling along in the jeep. 'De Scepter van Gorbatsjov' parodies 'King Ottocar's Scepter' and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev passing his own scepter to Boris Yeltsin. 'Vlucht Ly 1862' parodies the cover of 'Flight 714' and references the 1992 airplane disaster on the Dutch appartment block in De Bijlmer. 'De Ploert met de Gulden Stralen' spoofs 'The Crab With The Golden Claws' and references the extremely hot summer in the Netherlands during 1994. Veerkamp parodied the same Tintin album with a cover which simultaneously referenced the Camel cigarettes brand. 'Tintin in America' is parodied with 'Cruijffje Mist Amerika', satirizing football trainer Johan Cruijff and the 1994 World Championship Football in the U.S. 'Buikje en de Jihado's' satirizes 'Tintin and the Picaros' and the 2004 murder of film director Theo van Gogh by a muslim extremist, while simultaneously caricaturing islamic critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali too.
'De Sigaren Uit Zijn Verbanddoos' parodies 'The Cigars of the Pharaoh' but with Hergé looking for cigar boxes. 'Fin-Fin - Tibet Ne Reponds Plus' spoofs 'Tintin in Tibet' and non-functional telephone booths. The same Tintin cover was spoofed with 'China in Tibet' targeting China's occupation of Tibet. 'The Tunnel Between Calais and Dover' satirizes the Chunnel as well as 'Red Rackham's Treasure'. 'School Inspection' depicts Thompson and Thomson peering through a keyhole in an elementary school. 'De Geheimzinnige Ster' parodies Marilyn Monroe in a bathing suit, while referencing 'The Shooting Star'. 'Cubanen in Voorraad' parodies 'The Red Sea Sharks' as well as Cuban boat refugees and Dutch novelist Harry Mulisch's sympathy for Fidel Castro's regime. 'Doodsoorzaak: Hobbyjagers' uses the cover of 'The Calculus Affair' to target game hunters. 'Het Geheim van de Eenhoorn' parodies Dutch singer Annie Schilder's refusal to pose naked in Hugh Hefner's Playboy and combines it with a spoof of the cover of 'The Secret of the Unicorn'. 'Uitje in Afrika' uses the cover of 'Tintin in Africa' to reference African poverty, while 'Uitje in Amerika' spoofs 'Tintin in America' as well as the famous photograph of the young couple at the 1969 Woodstock rock festival. His 'Magritte - The Third Man' is a spoof of both Thompson and Thomson, as well as René Magritte's 1955 painting 'Les Mystères de l' Horizon'. 'De 65 Kristallen Jaren' made use of 'The Seven Crystal Balls' to celebrate Belgian novelist Hugo Claus' 65th birthday in 1994 while in 2010 Veerkamp used the cover of 'Tintin in Tibet' to reference the death of Lambiek's founder Kees Kousemaker, an illustration which still hangs in a framed picture in the store.
In 1995 Veerkamp was sued by Hergé's estate, Moulinsart, for plagiarism over the six 'Tintin' cover parodies he made for Vrij Nederland. Two years later the case ended in an amicable settlement by both parties.
Some of his other silkscreens have parodied other artists as well, including Edward Hopper, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Salvador Dalí. Veerkamp has published several books, including 'Padvinders en Honden vinden altijd de weg terug', 'Welpenspetjes', 'Het Verkennen van Jongens', 'Grimeren voor Beginners', 'Het Postzegelalbum van Joost Veerkamp', 'Gevulde Contouren', 'De rode cabriolet', 'Het boek', 'Papieren Magneten' and 'Schrijversleed'.
Between 1985 and 1987, Joost Veerkamp had a section called 'Grimeren voor Beginners' in Vrij Nederland magazine. In six images, he created a metamorphosis of one celebrity into another, using a painted drawing and the photographed hands of a make-up artist. He created the comic 'Week in, Week uit' for newspaper De Volkskrant in 1992-93, and has additionally worked for NRC Handelsblad and Vrij Nederland. Veerkamp has worked with writers like Gerrit Komrij ('De Os op de Klokketoren'), Moonen ('De Anale Variant'), Battus ('La Ville Fumière'), Hotz ('September') and Hugo Claus. He makes cards, silkscreens and posters through his own firm Editions Obscures.
Veerkamp had an exposition in Galerie Lambiek in December 2008.