'EIN ODE VEUR DE HELTE VAN UT ZJWATZE GOUWD'
A HOMMAGE TO MY FATHER
AND ALL THE OTHER HEROES OF THE BLACK GOLD
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Coal Mines 'Laura' and 'Julia' in Eijgelshoven
South of Limburg, Netherlands (around 1960).
This is where I grew up.
I remember seeing gigantic chimneys, cooling towers, zigzag steel sculptures and strange huge buildings
whose enormous yellow-orange glowing windows were hiding the big secret.
That was where my father, my grandfather, my uncles, my neighbours,
yes I think the whole village was working.
Deep, deep down in the belly of the earth.
For us village boys, this seemed to be the one and only, but, very exciting job.
We imagined ourselves to break big pieces of coal out of huge walls,
lightbulb on our helmets, crawling on our knees and
what seemed the very best, to become dirty as hell ..black, coal-black....Yeah!
BUT....
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Installation: 'En Rejse Under Jorden' FAR udstilling SAK, 2000 |
Installation: "Mine" KunstTårnRute Langeland Hennetved Tårn, 2003 |
my parents told me all the time, I should not go down in the black hole, 'ut shjwatte loak'.
I'd be better off trying to go to university and become 'a somebody' !
That was my mum and dad's dream and yes, it became true for me and my 2 brothers. Lucky us.
After university I went to the Art Academy where I started painting about this "shjwatte loak".
There were 12 coalmines in 'Limburg', the most southern province of the Netherlands.
The 'Julia', 'Laura', 'Hendrik', 'Emma', 'Oranje Nassau-1, -2, -3 and -4', the 'Willem-Sophie', 'Maurits', 'Domaniale' and the 'Beatrix'.
The history of mining in Limburg is as simple and short
as the history of so many other big industries.
They create a new life, towns, prosperity and than they are closed
and next comes poverty, unhappiness and chaos.
In the 1970's all these mines were closed and more than 40.000 coalminers were thrown on the streets.
They were no longer adressed as 'the heroes of the black gold'
NO, just.....
THANK YOU AND GOODBYE
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