In the late 90’s Michiel (aka Gieler) began experimenting with graffiti in Amsterdam. For years, he remained active with spraying letters on walls. As years passed, his graffiti style evolved into a broader street art/urban art, and he began experimenting on canvas. The original influence of the streets on which he worked as a graffiti artist can still be recognized in his current work. Michiel's collage works are created with posters he collects from walls on the streets of Amsterdam. In a way, this makes it ‘sustainable art’, and Michiel feels that using these found items brings an edge of real life to the artwork. Michiel also uses other old materials and tools, like damaged brushes, blunt stanley knives, and on occasion, broken tools. “By working with older tools the results are more surprising and exciting and the creations are more unique than creating everything by the rules ….” In addition to his collage work, Michiel uses screenprinting, as well as aerosol and stenciling, hearkening back to his graffiti roots.