Contemporary art made from ordinary packing tape

From Amsterdam’s street lamps to exhibitions and international art fairs worldwide.

Max Zorn creates cinematic scenes by layering and cutting packing tape on acrylic glass. Light passing through the layers reveals their colour and depth. Explore the artwork, watch the process, or discover how to collect an original.

About Max Zorn

Max Zorn (b. 1987) is a Dutch-German artist who emerged from Amsterdam’s street art scene in 2011. Today, he exhibits internationally at leading art fairs and galleries, with a track record of consistently sold-out shows. For over a decade, his annual online event has drawn intense collectors’ interest, with artworks frequently acquired within minutes of release.
Zorn creates artworks exclusively from brown and colored packing tape, meticulously cutting and layering it onto acrylic glass. When backlit, the tape reveals glowing, sepia-toned images reminiscent of cinematic scenes.

How It Started: From Street Lamps to Global Spotlight

What began as a personal gesture, placing handmade tape art onto Amsterdam’s street lamps, quickly evolved into an international phenomenon.

In 2011, a grainy YouTube video went viral, showing an Amsterdam artist slicing ordinary packing tape into glowing images, set against a gritty hip-hop beat. Then, under the cover of night, he climbed street lamps throughout the city, turning them into luminous showcases for his creations.
Within days, Max Zorn’s quiet nighttime experiments were suddenly in demand by international galleries, celebrities, and art collectors from New York to Miami to Hong Kong. CNN features followed, then TEDx, CBS… NBC… they all went after the story. But while they portrayed a rebellious street-art sensation, the truth was way simpler, more personal… each glowing artwork had started as a message intended for just one person.