August 16, 2012
Vagabondage Here is another quotation in the same spirit as in last week’s blog post from an inspiring little book, ‘What is history’ by E. H. Carr: ‘…as soon as I have got going on a few of what I… Read more
July 2, 2012
My recent Great Sweep through my studio included going through my ‘Rajasthan‘ cupboard. It was good to unfold and rearrange a collection of Indian textiles – nothing exceptionally valuable but a testimony to change as a number of hand-blocked cotton… Read more
April 8, 2012
Every once in a while I’m being asked for advice on travel plans in India. During many years I have organised and accompanied such tours for friends. The time it took to prepare a balanced, informative and unforgettable journey made me… Read more
March 27, 2012
These past weeks I have often wondered about what makes people great, why they are often humble, and how badly we miss trustworthy models at the moment. Several recent press articles made me draw once again the conclusion that… Read more
February 10, 2012
On December 23 I mentioned in this weblog the moment when I set out to find a publisher for Rajasthan, and how ill prepared I had been for the attitudes in the trade. I believe it could be interesting to write a small… Read more
February 8, 2012
Almost nine years after its launch, Rajasthan is still living its own life. It was by sheer chance that a friend found the book last week sitting comfortably in an armchair on the cover of a flyer from an interior decorator… Read more
January 20, 2012
Some years ago five images from my Rajasthan pages were selected for a – now discontinued – poster called Samples and a series of postcards sold by IKEA. I took the picture one early morning in Jodhpur when… Read more
January 17, 2012
At the launch of Rajasthan in London in the Fall of 2003, a journalist asks me why, being Dutch, I have not made a book about Indonesia. Although the question is meant to tease me, it is fundamental and the… Read more
January 16, 2012
After the launch of Rajasthan I returned to India to finally show my friends what I had been doing. The village of Rohet in the Jodhpur region and its pleasant fort had been my base for longer periods of time. I had even become… Read more
December 22, 2011
My most faithful travel companion is a small Moleskine ‘reporter’ notebook which, at home, is paired with a larger one that grows within a few months to bursting point with photos, sketches and cuttings. For years I used to bind… Read more