Issue1 TasteBound compressed - Flipbook - Page 15
generally not allowed to do because I’m very impulsive and
say yes to everything and everybody! – but because there
was nobody in the office I had free rein to go through the
inbox and I came across an email from a lady called Marike in
Marke, which is an island just north of Amsterdam.
She introduced herself and asked if I’d ever visited Marke.
Well, I’d been living in Amsterdam for 33 years at this point,
but I hadn’t. She went on: ‘Well, it’s about time, because on
our island, there are 900 of us and we have a very special
klederdracht [clothing tradition].’
I wrote back saying I had no idea this was on my doorstep
and that I was going to come to meet her. Only she replied,
‘No, the email is five years old. Nobody answered me.’ I
explained I wasn’t responsible for my emails, but she said,
‘Everybody denies their own responsibilities’ – all very
Dutch. After about a month of back and forth, she agreed
that if I arrived with a bunch of flowers and an apology,
then we could meet. So I got on a bike, cycled out of
Amsterdam across the causeway and arrived on the
dike. And there she was, with her sisters, all dressed in
klederdracht from their village.
Over time, Marike introduced me to the community
there. She explained how each waistcoat is passed down
from generation to generation – each weaving in their story,
not dissimilar to tattooing. She pointed out that what I’d
been artistically aspiring to document around the world was
right on my doorstep in the Netherlands the whole time. She
explained how the islands are quite private – and although
they’re close to Amsterdam, there is a fear that the customs
there would be interpreted by others as being stuffy or be
considered backwards.
I was able to immerse myself in the community and,
subsequently, two years later, I produced a book called
Between the Sea and the Sky, which forms part of an
exhibition that is currently on at Fotomuseum aan het
Vrijthof, in Maastricht. When the exhibition opened, I
organised a stunt where 900 of the people involved came to
the main square, all wearing their traditional dress.
It went viral domestically, and awakened a whole new
interest in who we are as the Dutch and revived curiosity
in our heritage. I don’t see myself as an anthropologist,
ethnologist, photographer or journalist. What I create is
Between the Sea and the Sky, Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof,
Maastricht, until 21 September; jimmynelson.com
TA S T E B O U N D
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