Lecturis, 2021
First edition
Hardcover, 256 pages, 240 x 300 mm
Condition: New
Some call it a mullet. The Flemish call it a neck carpet. The Dutch refer to it as “de mat”. And the iconic hairstyle continues to be a trend in The Hague, Netherlands, where photographers Daniel Heikens and Rein Langeveld have been collaborating with designer Joost Nijhuis since 2011 on a project about “De Haagse mat”.
Sporting a mullet is a choice, but not always a conscious one. Some people have had the hairstyle since childhood, and it has simply come to define who they are. The mullet underlines their deep love for the city of The Hague and is an essential part of their identity. Although people’s motives vary widely, those who choose the mullet seem to share a rejection of the prevailing bourgeois morality.
The resulting photo book captures a large number of mullets and the cultural phenomena behind it. Designed like a true atlas, it includes geographical maps, pictograms, and statistics based on interviews with the subjects.
