On my doorstep

Abstract

Hans Bol has been living in the Ooijpolder, in the east of the Netherlands, since 1993. Following an earlier series of landscape photographs of this area which he published in 2004, the pandemic presented the perfect opportunity to further investigate his immediate surroundings. According to Bol, it felt liberating and beneficial to be able to explore the landscape with a calm sort of concentration, a small camera always at hand, making pictures inspired by amazement or chance rather than any preconceived plan. This new series of photos made him more conscious than ever of the significance of the concept of 'home'. Includes a text by Dutch behavioural biologist Tijs Goldschmidt, recipient of the 2023 P.C. Hooft Award for his complete oeuvre.