Another Month, Another Paper (05.2021)

Groetjes uit de Zuiderzee! (transl. Greetings from the Zuiderzee) was a multi media installation that was on display between June until November 2021. The installation was part of the group exhibition Must See, organized by curator Anne van der Zwaag (known for her annual art and design presentations Big Art and Object) and the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands.

The Zuiderzeemuseum (since 1949) is located in the historic center of Enkhuizen and is devoted to preserving the cultural heritage and maritime history of the old Zuiderzee region. With Must See, they assigned 15 artists and designers to create a new work, based on a given typical Dutch icons, that were and still are important for the tourist sector in the Netherlands. A selection: cows, wooden shoes, traditional clothing, windmills and postcards. I had the honor to work with the latter. The postcard: a typical touristic icon and definitely one of my favorite things in the world of printed matter.

In one of the rooms in the museum, you were surprised at first sight. The multimedia installation consisted of five huge postcards – with the sizes 3 x 1,5 m and 2,5 x 2 m - that truly popped in the space. On the front of the postcards you saw a digital compilation of all different kind of media. Old photos, posters, museum pieces from the depot are interspersed with contemporary illustrations, commercials, photos and film fragments. New and old alternated in a playful way – supported by a sound that is played alternately per postcard. On the backside of the first two postcards you would find original written backsides in a huge size (from around 1919), that I had found at the museum archive. On the other three backsides, I had placed a fitting Tripadvisor review. This made a strong combination between past and future. Where a postcard was used in the older days to promote a holiday spot, in the world of today we use social media and review platforms to share our adventures. 

Each postcard had its own theme: fishing, cleanliness, traditional costumes, windmills & tulips and the Netherlands as a waterland. The contents of the cards originated from a major research into museum pieces from the depot and into the contemporary visual culture that I could find today. I had visited typical touristic towns such as Volendam and Marken and explored their tourist stores and dived into tourist websites and the realm of stock imagery.

The central question of the project was: what has been the influence of the postcard on the contemporary tourist image of the Netherlands? The installation shows that the typical images that were used in the past to ‘attract’ tourists, are still used outside and inside the Dutch borders. Offline and online. And depending on the themes – the image of ‘typical Netherlands’ is changing only slowly. One of things I really realized even more, is the magnificence of the role designers and creators, of the image of a world or culture to others.

The target group of the museum mainly consists of day trippers, families and foreign tourists. The installation has an accessible content and design which makes it interesting for the entire target group. And the installation has an educational and playful value. For the title I was inspired by a hand drawn package that I found in the museum depot. I created a modern version with a realistic 3D touch. At the end of the installation, you could find printed cards. People could take these home with them. As a classic souvenir.