Stadstekenaar: Wie ben ik dat ik dit doen mag?

Every month, The Hague’s second City Illustrator Kexin Hao publishes a drawing about the city, from the perspective of local animals.

A wingless seagull, shaped like a bullet or a high-speed train, streaks across the canvas. One of the fish from the Scheveningen symbol atop the herring stall near Buitenhof is missing—it’s in the seagull’s possession. The bird lands on and rebounds off the body of the stork from The Hague’s coat of arms. It questions: Why am I not the symbol of The Hague?

Beneath the orange sky stands the statue of former Queen Juliana. Engraved on it is her famous quote: “Wie ben ik dat ik dit doen mag?”—a reflection of her humility on the day of her inauguration. But this question is also resonates with Kexin Hao, as the newly appointed Stadstekenaar: Who am I to be the one doing this?