Hazelnut Park, Istanbul 2007
 
From the book & the exhibition 'Istanbul's Ferry – Encounters along the Bosphorus'
 
Giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Pearl paper.
Size 30x20 cm without white border.
 
"For the project 'The Ferry of Istanbul' I lived in Istanbul for a year, the first months just above the Hazelnut Park, where the Art Academy was also located, on the hill close to the European shore of the Bosphorus. From our apartment - which we rented from a famous soprano, who introduced us to the cultural life of the metropolis - we walked almost every day along the shore to the ferry that took us to the Asian side. For five lira you could try to shoot the fluttering balloons in the background of the photo with a gun. In the afternoon the cart also drove around with warm chickpeas and rice. The image of the woman that was not positioned towards the other side, but sovereignly towards Europe, became for me a symbol for secular Turkey, which we saw gradually wither during our stay."
"I mainly work in long-term projects in which I investigate contemporary subjects. Since 2001 I am fascinated by the borders and the periphery of Europe. I had several exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad, including in De Kunsthal in Rotterdam, museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen, with Rem Koolhaas in Brussels, during BredaPhoto Festival in the Netherlands and Festival Photoreporter in France. Together with writer and journalist Irene van der Linde I published a trilogy about the borders of Europe: Het einde van Europa, ontmoetingen langs de nieuwe oostgrens (2004) – in French translation nominated for the Prix du Livre Européen –, Het veer van Istanbul, ontmoetingen langs de Bosporus (2010) and Bloed en honing – ontmoetingen op de grenzen van de Balkan (2021) – winner of the Ducth Photobook award."
 
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