GUP#12

Introduction

Amsterdam, that beautiful city built on pilings. An inexhaustible source of subject matter for innumerable photographers. Not that it’s such a megalomaniac capital – it’s more of a village with urban traditions. But it’s that smallness which often provides photography with the impact and attention it deserves. Take Henk Wildschut and Raimond Wouda’s Sandrien series. Inspired by a newspaper article, they followed the crew of the chemical tanker Sandrien La Paz, detained in North Amsterdam, for 1.5 years. The publication of the two photographers’ pictures helped alert people to the plight of the Indian crew, whose situation had begun to deteriorate. Shortly thereafter, the crew was finally allowed to go home. A small idea with major impact. In this special issue, we will highlight various Amsterdam photographers, each with their own vision and way of working. Realistic and surrealistic.