Projects Heijdens Karwei

Title: Omkijken
Presenting work by 40 Dutch photographers
Published by Lenthe Publishers in September 2007

SIRE is an independent foundation whose goal is to give information about underexposed social
issues to the public, political leaders and decision makers. In 2007 SIRE commemorated its 40th
anniversary with the publication of the photo book Omkijken (looking back) on social issues. Forty
Dutch top photographers documented their vision of a socially aware section of Dutch society.

On September 26 the first copy of the book was presented to Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of
The Netherlands

Title: Zambia! Zambia!
Exhibition from November 24, 2007, to February 10, 2008
In collaboration with NiZa and Kunsthal Rotterdam, Heijdens Karwei designed this
photographic exhibition of work made by Geert van Kesteren in Zambia

Extract from an article by Eddie Marsman published in NRC Next on December 11, 2007:
“The photographs are exhibited in a long straight line on the walls of the narrow exhibition
room which acts as a horizon, with a minimum of space in between. The first thing you notice
are not the photographs, but a pattern of thin vertical lines sticking out above and below the
images. Only after a while do you notice that the lines consist of Zambian statistics in words
and figures: labor force 4,9 million; unemployment 50%; number of people with HIV/AIDS
930,000; life expectancy 38.44 years. This information is not legible, but is repeated in the
small catalogue. In essence, this is a cardiogram: the heartbeat of Zambia. It’s a designer’s
game, but based on content. The cardiogram contains the statistical information behind the
photographic story, while the photographs give visual expression to the abstract figures.”

Title: Fragile
Presenting work by participants in the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass
Published by World Press Photo in November 2007

In 2007, the 14th Joop Swart Masterclass had Fragile as its theme. The event was held in FOAM
Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam for the sixth time. It is World Press Photo’s ambition to open up the
masterclass to a broader photographic community as well as the interested public. The photo book
has been restyled in hardcover format, with more pages and photographs than previous masterclass
publications. The book, in which the photographers tell the story behind each essay, is printed on
Polar, an extra white offset paper by Munken. None of the participants interpreted the theme
literally. Including thoughtful studies from a wide range of viewpoints, the publication presents
some stories on humanitarian issues. In the fragile political situation in Congo, for example,
fragile can mean dangerous, in. Other essays focus on intimate portraits, or they still turn the
notion on its head and look at what it means to be strong.

Annual Report Stichting Vluchteling
Published in June 2007

Heijdens Karwei designed the Annual Report of Stichting Vluchteling, a Dutch refugee
organization. Using used plastic bags in the cover, the first page of the report says:
“A piece of plastic. A bag that is of no more use. We don’t see its value. But for a lot
of refugees, worldwide, such bags can be a wall – their only protection against the
burning sun, gales or rain. And against disease, war and violence. 33 million people are
displaced from their homes and live in hovels made from plastic bags, branches and
garbage. For many of them, it is their only possession. That is why we believe this
plastic book cover is good enough for our Annual Report 2006.”

Henk J. Th. van Stokkom, managing director of Van Stokkom, Management and Advice for Grant
Making Trusts and Foundations, said about the report: “The style, layout and use of black
and white are a breath of fresh air.”

The annual report was part of the selection of best Dutch design in 2007
(see www.denederlandsedesignprijzen.nl).
It was also nominated as one of the 9 best designed Dutch annual reports
(see www.grafischecultuur.nl > De best verzorgde jaarverslagen)

[Work in progress]
Title: Black Passport
Photo book on the life of photographer Stanley Greene,
due to go on sale in late 2008.

In an interview, Stanley Greene observed that the art director Alexis Brodovich
once compared the life of an artist to the life of a butterfly: “If they’re
lucky, they can last for eight months. But I applied it to war photography
and the life of a war photographer: if they’re lucky, they can last for
eight years. If you are reading the Tarot and you look at the death card,
you can have physical death but you can also have spiritual death. And I
think that the comparison with eight years is like that – I think you can
only do this work for eight years. That doesn’t mean you can’t continue to
do it, but I think you can only stay positive about it for eight years. If
you continue for longer, you change – and not into a beautiful butterfly.
I see this in myself, and I see it in all my friends and colleagues.
I mean they are all victims of trauma. They have all become post traumatic
and deal with it in different ways. We are not beautiful butterflies anymore.
We have become moths, and we do what moths do: they fly into the flame.
We are like moths flying into the flame. You know, sometimes your wings
get singed or you just burn up. You get killed, or you burn up inside.
The drugs, the alcohol and the parties, all of this, serve to push it away,
push it away.”

Title: NRC Next - In Beeld
Presenting work shown at
Fotofestival Naarden 2007

NRC Handelsblad is one of the
leading newspapers in The
Netherlands. In 2006 the paper
started publication of NRC Next, a
tabloid edition targeted at a
younger audience. One of its daily
features is a double-page image in
the heart of the newspaper. NRC Next
exhibited a selection of these
spreads at the photo festival
Naarden. We designed an outdoor
exhibition using a special material
that can be glued to the pavement.
The effect was such that it appeared
as if someone had lost a newspaper,
sheet by sheet. The blown up photographs
were pasted on footpaths throughout Naarden.

Title: Allemaal!
Presenting work by Martijn van de Griendt
Published by Podium in October 2006

‘Levenslied’ is Dutch for a particular genre of songs written in the Dutch language, which can be
compared to Portuguese fado or American blues, although there are obvious differences in sentiment
with both. The Levenslied and its stars are hardly known outside of the Netherlands, though at
home some of the stars are worshipped as if they were God on earth. Photographer Martijn van de
Griendt documented some of them on tour, a project that resulted in a collection of humorous,
emotional and striking photographs. Frans Bauer, Marianne Weber, Lee Towers, Koos Alberts, Vader
Abraham, Gerard Joling, Bonnie St. Claire, Jan Smit and Willeke Alberti – in Allemaal! we not only
see them and other artists on stage, but also in their dressing-rooms and meeting their fans. Some
of them were even captured at home. The entire book is printed on high-gloss paper.

From a review in Het Parool: “A beautiful photo book […] The book acutely strikes the reader with
its humor.”

Title: Plaats Delict Amsterdam
Presenting work from the Amsterdam Police Archive, with text by Martin Bril
Published by Nieuw Amsterdam in January 2007

The photographs by Amsterdam police photographers take the viewer to crime scenes between 1965 and
1985. You get a sense of watching over the shoulders of the police officers in bars, night clubs,
hotel rooms and at the homes of victims and perpetrators. The images show time passing by, with
the introduction of color photography and crime becoming more and more violent. The publication
includes photographs of the Provo youth movement and of the violent squatters riots of the
eighties. Plaats Delict Amsterdam is different from other photo books. It paints a portrait of an
era while giving the reader a unique glimpse inside the Amsterdam Police Department and its
painstaking methods of investigation and pathology.

The book was edited in collaboration with Myriam Missana of the Amsterdam Police Department under
the guidance of photography historian Rik Suermondt.

Title: Amnesty in Actie
Published by Amnesty International The Netherlands

Amnesty in Actie is a monthly magazine published by
Amnesty International for its active members. It gives
information on the different activities Amnesty
organizes in The Netherlands. The magazine was
completely restyled at the end of 2006 for a launch in
January 2007.

Heijdens Karwei collaborated on the design with
Hanneke Meijers.

Title: Ma Hui, The landscape from my childhood
Presenting work by Ma Hui
Published by Ma Hui in October 2006

Ma Hui is an artist born and raised in China. In 1983, after graduated from Xi’an University Art
College, she moved to Europe. Since 1990 she has been living in the Netherlands. Ma Hui
adds poetic notions to her etchings: ‘landscape of my childhood’ and ‘the sea is my
hometown’. Her work uses different techniques such as ink on rice paper and reflects a
preoccupation with childhood memories, the countryside and cultural minorities, with a keen
interest in eastern philosophy. It presents a refined mix of two different worlds. Early in 2006,
Ma Hui asked us to design a catalogue of her work. Not surprisingly, it was printed in
Shenzhen, China.