Archive for the ‘Rotterdam’ Category
The Destroyed City sculpture, Rotterdam
Thursday, May 14th, 2020Dik de Boef
Monday, May 4th, 2020
“I used to believe the war was my parents war- that it was not part of my life.
They lost 40 friends to starvation and execution.
At the end of the 1980’s, I realized the war was a part of my life.
Once I went to therapy the memories came back.
Now I accept war is a part of my own history.”
-Dik de Boef
Dik de Boef was four years old on February 22, 1944 when the Allies bombed the Dutch cities of Arnhem, Nijmegen and Enschede. Two bombs fell on his family’s home.
“My mother called my name. I was unconscious but after a couple of hours I said “Yes, I’m here.” I was playing near a wall. The two bombs created a vacuum- the wall and the roof collapsed on top of me. It took hours to rescue me because only a small part of me was visible. The first image I had was one of the rescuers hands covered in blood and the mattress that they laid me down and brought me to the hospital on.”
The beginning of Dik’s life was dominated by the harsh reality of World War Two. He experienced several aerial bombings, the German occupation of Netherlands and the difficult period of time rebuilding after the war. He is photographed holding a piece of clothing he was wearing when he was
pulled out of the debris in Arnhem.
Fragile
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
Adriaan de Winter
Sunday, May 13th, 2018
From Above, Gallery EF, Tokyo
Wednesday, March 28th, 2018..March 2018.. ..Tokyo..
Final week of the From Above exhibition at Gallery EF. Open until Monday April 2nd.
This From Above exhibition corresponds with the 73rd anniversary of the Tokyo fire bombings that destroyed the city during WWII. It features portraits of firebombing survivors from Tokyo, and other WWII fire bombing survivors from Dresden, Coventry, Rotterdam and Wielun. A small selection of atomic bomb survivor portraits will also be shown to display all the areas that From Above has focused on.
Gallery Ef
2-19-18 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku,
Tokyo 111-0034
www.gallery-ef.com
Gallery EF
111-0034
東京都台東区雷門 2-19-18
www.gallery-ef.com
TEL. 03-3841-0442
FAX. 03-3841-9079
From Above at Gallery EF, Tokyo
Thursday, March 22nd, 2018..March 2018.. ..Tokyo..
From Above exhibition at Gallery EF.
From Above will be exhibited at Gallery EF in Tokyo, March 11th-April 2nd, 2018.
This From Above exhibition corresponds with the 73rd anniversary of the Tokyo fire bombings that destroyed the city during WWII. It features portraits of firebombing survivors from Tokyo, and other WWII fire bombing survivors from Dresden, Coventry, Rotterdam and Wielun. A small selection of atomic bomb survivor portraits will also be shown to display all the areas that From Above has focused on.
Gallery EF is where the From Above project was conceived in 2008 and first exhibited in 2009. It is the project’s spiritual home.
From Above has been exhibited at Gallery EF several times but hasn’t returned in a couple of years. So there are plenty of new portraits that will be shown for the first time.
Gallery Ef
2-19-18 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku,
Tokyo 111-0034
www.gallery-ef.com
Gallery EF
111-0034
東京都台東区雷門 2-19-18
www.gallery-ef.com
TEL. 03-3841-0442
FAX. 03-3841-9079
From Above exhibition at Gallery EF, Tokyo
Wednesday, March 14th, 2018..March 2018.. ..Tokyo..
From Above exhibition at Gallery EF.
From Above will be exhibited at Gallery EF in Tokyo, March 11th-April 2nd, 2018.
This From Above exhibition corresponds with the 73rd anniversary of the Tokyo fire bombings that destroyed the city during WWII. It features portraits of firebombing survivors from Tokyo, and other WWII fire bombing survivors from Dresden, Coventry, Rotterdam and Wielun. A small selection of atomic bomb survivor portraits will also be shown to display all the areas that From Above has focused on.
Gallery EF is where the From Above project was conceived in 2008 and first exhibited in 2009. It is the project’s spiritual home.
From Above has been exhibited at Gallery EF several times but hasn’t returned in a couple of years. So there are plenty of new portraits that will be shown for the first time.
Gallery Ef
2-19-18 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku,
Tokyo 111-0034
www.gallery-ef.com
Gallery EF
111-0034
東京都台東区雷門 2-19-18
www.gallery-ef.com
TEL. 03-3841-0442
FAX. 03-3841-9079
From Above exhibition at Gallery EF, Tokyo
Thursday, March 8th, 2018From Above will be exhibited at Gallery EF in Tokyo, March 11th-April 2nd, 2018.
This From Above exhibition corresponds with the 73rd anniversary of the Tokyo fire bombings that destroyed the city during WWII. It features portraits of firebombing survivors from Tokyo, and other WWII fire bombing survivors from Dresden, Coventry, Rotterdam and Wielun. A small selection of atomic bomb survivor portraits will also be shown to display all the areas that From Above has focused on.
Gallery EF is where the From Above project was conceived in 2008 and first exhibited in 2009. It is the project’s spiritual home.
From Above has been exhibited at Gallery EF several times but hasn’t returned in a couple of years. So there are plenty of new portraits that will be shown for the first time.
Gallery Ef
2-19-18 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku,
Tokyo 111-0034
www.gallery-ef.com
Gallery EF
111-0034
東京都台東区雷門 2-19-18
www.gallery-ef.com
TEL. 03-3841-0442
FAX. 03-3841-9079
Adriaan de Winter
Sunday, October 30th, 2016..October 2016.. ..Rotterdam…
I received the sad news that Mr. Adriaan de Winter passed away earlier this year. Mr. de Winter was a Rotterdam fire bombing survivor I photographed during January 2015 for From Above.
As a 14 year old, Mr. de Winter learned about the harsh reality of war immediately. On the second day of the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, his house was destroyed. Four days later on May 14th, 1940 the house his family was staying in was smashed during the great air raid of Rotterdam. For the second time his family lost everything and that was just the start of the war.
During the occupation, Mr. de Winter was a member of the resistance. He and his father risked their lives secretly radioing Nazi positions to the Allied forces during air raids. While everyone was hiding in cellars during Allied raids they were transmitting coded messages near windows with small hand set radios.
After being caught he was sent to an internment camp where he escaped while being transported by cattle car. He managed to walk through most of the country reaching the Allied lines in Belgium. He fought bravely along side Scottish Rangers as the Allies advanced closer to the Netherlands. At the end of the war he witnessed the V2 revenge bombings in Antwerp and had the grisly experience of clearing dead bodies after one scored a direct hit on a movie theater.
I consider myself lucky to have spent time with Mr. de Winter. He experienced more as a boy than most do in a lifetime. It was an honor to have known him.
Dik de Boef
Friday, July 8th, 2016