Zomersprookjes - along the Dutch coast 2007
Zomersprookjes are stories, poems and soundscapes written for seventy giant glass shells that in the summer of 2007 ‘washed ashore’ along the Dutch coast to tell stories. ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the sea could tell us stories about the relativity of human actions, our pursuit of happiness and the importance of trust, hope and vulnerability?’ Seventy writers, poets and sound artists were assigned this question. The results are remarkable. Stories in which the sea and the giant shells express their amazement and surprise in free fantasies with a different sense of time and space. The sea is never again just ‘sea’ after listening to or reading the stories!
In 3 months the giant shells visited 13 locations along the Dutch coast, from the Oerol Festival, via Vlieland, Texel, Hargen aan Zee, Castricum, Heemskerk, Noordwijk, Den Haag, Monster, Westvoorne, Ouddorp, Domburg to Groede in Zeeland. The book Zomersprookjes is a compilation of these maritime tales. A DVD of the stories recited by their authors was also issued. Fragments of the stories and images of the journey were made into a filmed impression. To partly meet the costs of financing the project, the giant shells were sold to interested parties at the end of the installation.
