souvenirs
Once upon a time we travelled around the world. By 2019, tourist annual arrivals had reached 1.5 billion according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. At the time, I was one of them, travelling regularly to countries all over the world for my work as a photographer.
Then, suddenly, everything came to a complete stop. Borders closed, airplanes were grounded, people cancelled their holidays and international travel ground to a halt.
At the moment, while the situation remains fluid and things are changing rapidly, it is difficult to predict how things will work in the future. Sometimes this makes me feel anxious but on brighter days I see opportunities lying ahead of us. We can work for a better and more sustainable use of our planet.
Like many of us, I'm surrounded by things we keep to remind us of a special trip or a memorable event: souvenirs. I have kept a moment from almost every trip I have been on. Most of them now live in the attic, covered in dust. I only keep my favourite ones on display around our house: stones, African masks, figurines, bracelets, an old passport filled with visas. Remnants of the past.
The past months I've been travelling in my mind. I feel grateful for all these experiences I took for granted as they were playing out in front of my eyes like a constant flow - trip after trip after trip, always on the road.
I felt that it was time these memories of the past should shine in all their simplicity - each with a short description, a flash of memory.
Now, for the first time in my life, I am shooting my window on the world...at home.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
June 2020
