Hans van der Meer creates a photographic record of the border area between the two kingdoms
Photo Hans van der MeerDutch terraced housing opposite Belgian ‘palaces’, ‘starter homes’ opposite ‘shoddy extensions’, building inspectors opposite own initiative. The Netherlands and Belgium are very different in terms of building and living. Nowhere is this more evident than in the border area between the two kingdoms. Photographer Hans van der Meer travelled from Cadzand to Vaals. The result is 40 beautiful panorama photos of mansions & houses, yards & gardens, streets & pavements, roads & pastures, in, on and between which the Belgians and the Dutch have lived since the 60s. Although the Dutch are of the opinion that “everything is possible” when living in Belgium, the general belief is that in their own country a building inspector is required for “every dormer window”.
“Few people know that the Netherlands and Belgium resemble one another more and more. If this continues, the border will really disappear!” Photographer Hans van der Meer
Dit jaar roept de tentoonstelling Document Nederland vragen op over de letterlijke én figuurlijke grenzen van het gebruik van ruimte, van vrijheid en van samenleven. Van der Meer: 'Als je de grens met België passeert, zie je meteen: Dit is een andere wereld. Ik ben een fotograaf die vragend kijkt en ik wil in deze tentoonstelling de verschillen onderzoeken tussen de grensstreken, maar tegelijkertijd ook de overeenkomsten. Want wat weinig mensen weten, is dat Nederland en België steeds meer op elkaar lijken. Als dat zo door gaat is de grens straks echt verdwenen!'
This year, the exhibition Document Nederland raises questions about the literal and figurative boundaries of the use of space, of freedom and of living together. Van der Meer: 'When you cross the border into Belgium, you immediately notice that it is another world. I am a photographer who asks questions, and with this exhibition I want to look not only at the differences between either side of the border, but also at the similarities. Because few people know that the Netherlands and Belgium resemble one another more and more. If this continues, the border will really disappear!'
Photo Hans van der Meer
Photographer Hans van der Meer
Hans van der Meer (Leimuiden, 1955) is a documentary photographer with an eye for coincidence and absurdity who has published multiple photography books and films. With his observations of life in the streets of Budapest (1985), he won a World Press Photo award. His books Dutch Fields. (De Verbeelding, 1998) and European Fields (SteidlMack, 2006) with landscape photos about amateur football brought him international fame. He has had solo exhibitions in museums such as Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam), the National Media Museum (Bradford), the Ludwig Museum (Budapest) and at the Rencontres d'Arles festival. For the Dutch newspapers NRC and Volkskrant, he wrote columns based on his photos, and he is also a co-founder of the magazine Useful Photography.
Document Nederland
The Rijksmuseum has organised the annual exhibition Document Nederland since 1975. Every year, a Dutch photographer is asked to focus on a topical societal phenomenon. This year the exhibition, which is organised in conjunction with Vrij Nederland, takes place in the renovated Philips Wing of the Rijksmuseum. The Philips Wing will reopen for the public on 1 November.
The exhibition Document Nederland is co-sponsored by the Mondriaan Fund.
