Description

Distance

“Distance” was the mantra of governments worldwide in their attempts to control the Corona pandemic. The measures imposed on us to enforce social distancing left deep marks on our society. In 2020, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam gave me the honorable commission to document these traces.

The photographs in this beautifully designed book by Robin Uleman showed, among other things, warehouses filled with face masks, abandoned offices, solitary hospital beds, an empty Tuschinski theater, the mortuary of the AMC, and even a picture of traditional Dutch winter fun on the ice. Together, they captured the atmosphere of a charged time. The concerns and impatience on the one hand, and the resigned melancholy on the other, were perhaps not always directly visible, yet anyone who leafed through the book was reminded of those mixed emotions. In this way, my work bridged the very distance it portrayed.

To emphasize the feeling of standstill, the edit of the book was not arranged chronologically. The passing of time, however, remained constantly present in the background through the integral inclusion of cabinet press conference texts—barely legible, but undeniably there.

Altogether, the book offered a portrait of how the Netherlands looked during Corona: how healthcare workers and scientists worked tirelessly behind the scenes, how public space took on a new appearance, and how human contact was defined by protection, isolation, and distance.

The Japanese-bound softcover book, measuring 27×22 cm, contained 90 photographs across 160 pages.