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 take to be the capital sources, the itch becomes too strong…
Read moreMy 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 pieces are not available anymore if…
Read moreDuring 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 recently stop doing so, but it was equally fun to dream in advance about sensational places and, when travelling at last, to share…
Read moreThese 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 greatness resides in a subtle combination of humility and self-confidence.
Read moreOn 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 book for authors in search of a publisher and it…
Read moreAlmost 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 in Laren, the Netherlands. …
Read moreSome 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 the renowned dyer Tayeb…
Read moreAt 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 journalist himself is surprised by its effect. What is the…
Read moreAfter 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 affectionately known as ‘Pollimadam’ and…
Read moreMy 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 my journals myself in different materials and those are particularly…
Read moreMany things have been kept out of the pages of this website in order to keep them simple. I have little patience with websites that need a road map. But hidden behind these slightly static pages is the image of work in progress, of periods of formation and research, and…
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