Narrow Roads to Far Provinces

Opa

The photograph is a panoramic view from the island Schouwen Duiveland on the silts of the Eastern Scheldt, the playgrounds of my youth. At the horizon we see the dams and bridge which lead to the island Tholen, where my grandparents lived. The sea and the dykes were borders which determined their way of living and speech.

In this work, a video of my grandfather is positioned on the right of the sea view. The video takes are from the year 2000 to 2007. I registered the usual conversation repertoire of my grandfather.

I loved the way he spoke and at the time I realized that sooner or later I would not be able anymore to hear him speaking in the disappearing dialect of the island which always has been a part of feeling home.

A short video take of my grandfather is inserted in the video section >