Thijs Janssen has quite an obsession with photographing basketball courts. The Dutch designer travels the world and whenever he spots one, he takes a shot – not with a ball, you understand, but with his camera.
Thailand, Ubon Rachtani © Thijs Janssen. All images courtesy of the artist, via Creative Boom submission.
Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, France, Malaysia, North America, Peru... these are just some of the countries he's been to so far and discovered where the game is played. Always lining up the basket in the centre of his frame, the perspective is the only thing that's consistent; the rest reveals something unique about each place.
"Every court has a different story to tell," Thijs says. "That's whether it’s the placement of its lines, the location where it’s at or the surroundings that it’s in. But they all have one thing in common around the world and that’s a rim. Without the rim, there is no basket, no game… no life."
Founder of SuperBruut, a design studio in Rotterdam, Thijs's World of Hoops project began in 2015 when he was visiting Beijing and photographed his first "bucket". It was a basketball court next door to a petrol station. He adds: "It became an interesting way to navigate through a city, to visit neighbourhoods you wouldn’t typically find yourself in, a fun side project while exploring the world.
"Over time the project grew slowly into a never-ending story of capturing and portraying basketball courts and their cultures from around the world."
China, Ordos © Thijs Janssen
Comlombia, Villa de Leyva © Thijs Janssen
Malaysia, Kuching © Thijs Janssen
Bolivia, LaPaz © Thijs Janssen
Bolivia, LaPaz © Thijs Janssen
Thailand, Bangkok © Thijs Janssen
Malaysia, Kuching © Thijs Janssen
Vietnam, DaNang © Thijs Janssen
Belgium, Antwerp, Kerkstraat © Thijs Janssen
Colombia, Bogota © Thijs Janssen
Marocco, Marrakech © Thijs Janssen
New York City, Lower Manhattan, Essex St & Hester St © Thijs Janssen
Australia, Sydney, Ultimo Community Centre © Thijs Janssen
Argentina, Puerto Madryn © Thijs Janssen
Comlombia, Cartagena © Thijs Janssen
France, Paris, 50 Boulevard de Grenelle © Thijs Janssen
Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Mall © Thijs Janssen
New York City, Lower Manhattan, Houston Street Playground © Thijs Janssen
Peru, Cusco © Thijs Janssen
Netherlands, Amsterdam, Museumplein © Thijs Janssen
Bolivia, Rurrenabaque © Thijs Janssen
Netherlands, Rotterdam, Zuid Mijnsherenplein © Thijs Janssen
Netherlands, Amsterdam, Brouwersgracht © Thijs Janssen
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