Hindenburgline Project 2012-2018








Hindenburgline Project
— the making of —
With the commemoration of the 1st World War 1914—1918 in prospect, together with Brussels–based writer, poet and historian Serge R. van Duijnhoven we conceived a very interesting project. It is composed by my landscapes of the former battlefields and Serge’s written stories and poems in which the over eight hundred miles frontline — that runs from Nieuwpoort and Ypres in Belgium, through Northern France, towards Verdun and Basel in Switzerland was followed; all in accordance with the described places mentioned in diaries and journals of veterans of the 1st World War.
The starting point for this quest are the poignant and personal notes and diary reports of Odon van Pevenaege, Louis Barthas, John Jackson and Carl Heller, a Belgian, a French, an English and a German-Dutch soldier. Four men who fought for Honor, God and Homeland in the trenches but nevertheless lost their sight of empathy and (co–)humanity. As Louis Barthas [France|1879–1952] wrote in one of his war journals: ‘…common suffering forges the hearts together and makes hatred disappear. Between indifferent people and even opponents sympathy was created. If only we had spoken the same language!’ —This quote became the title of our book with contributions of 12 Dutch and Flemish top-writers, published by Rubinstein Publishers Amsterdam.
April 2013 — Haaren NL
commissioned for Hindenburgline Project | Logo
design: Studio rudo Hartman, the Hague
De letter H is speciaal getekend voor de ondernemingsnaam Hindenburglinie en van daaruit gevat in een grafisch beeld welk refereert aan de opbouw van stellingen, stalen platen, schietposten met daarin de kogelgaten cq terugvallende kogels van de rits licht– en zwaar geschut. De pijlvorm verwijst de richting/voortgang naar het verre zuiden. Het uiteindelijke einddoel van de lange tocht. | r.H. april 2013
April 15, 2013 — Haaren NL
commissioned for Hindenburgline Project | Alphabet |
AT Hindenburg | AT Hindenburg Stencil
design: Attak Powergestaltung, ‘s-Hertogenbosch

June 10, 2014 — Romagne-sous-Montfaucon FR
Memorial de Montfaucon
October 21, 2014 — Pfetterhouse
— the famous Kilometre Zéro border stone —
The 800 miles Hindenburgline runs from Nieuport at the coast of Belgium via Ypres through the North of France, via Reims and Verdun, along the Alsace region and the Vosges mountains and ends here with the Km Zéro border stone — on the border of Switzerland .

Nov. 27, 2014 — Wetzlar DE
Leica Camera AG supports Hindenburgline Project
with a new Leica M240
Febr. 1|10, 2015 — Kaysersberg FR
While staying at a lovely appartment in Kayserberg, this period I visited the snow-covered slopes and peaks of Lac Blanc, Lac Noir, the Col du Bonhomme, the Collet du Linge, the Col de la Schlucht and the Col du Chapelotte. With temperatures up to -16° C — and the occasional snow blizzards — it was freezing cold in the Vosges.
April 15, 2016 | De Pont museum
preparation of wall text for the exhibition at the De Pont museum by Typography Wizard mr. Roland Vos.
(Vos Reclame Blijft Hangen, Tilburg)
April 30, 2016 | De Pont opening for invited guests
Invited by mr. Hendrik Driessen and the De Pont museum, the Friends of the Hindenburgline Project enjoyed a great lunch and a great performance of Serge’s Dichters Dansen Niet with their special program inspired by ‘Hadden we maar dezelfde taal gesproken!’ just before the public opening.