Every day a new drawing by Marcel van Eeden on Internet
09-08-2009 - © Port of Rotterdam AuthorityArtist Marcel van Eeden (b. 1965) has started work on a new 'graphic novel'. Until the end of 2009, he will publish a new drawing on his website every day.
Van Eeden's new work uses as a point of departure the 1942 sinking of the Cornelia Maersk in the North Sea at the site of Maasvlakte 2, the land reclamation project for the port of Rotterdam.
Over the past 15 years, Marcel van Eeden has constantly been adding to a growing oeuvre of drawings and paintings based on photographs taken before the year in which he was born. A large part of his work consists of graphic narratives in which Van Eeden combines historical fact with fiction, with the same characters returning each time in different circumstances. As a result, the graphic narratives can be read as works in themselves and as components of his total oeuvre. Van Eeden draws in a highly recognisable, fairly grim black-and-white style.
Van Eeden says of the new project, 'The area of the Maasvlakte 2 has virtually no history - it's like a blank page. To me, this gives it an extra dimension. I use the sinking of the Cornelia Maersk in 1942 as the point of departure for a narrative, and, as it were, give the area its own history or legend'.
Look closely at this picture. Tell what you see.
Look closely at the picture. What day would it be?
The artist has done historical research over the past few months, which allowed him to obtain, amongst other things, some photos of the Cornelia Maersk from the head office of the Maersk shipping company in Copenhagen. Because he does thorough research for each new series of drawings, the reader is unsure where fact ends and fiction begins.
This project was commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, which wants to give a cultural dimension to the Maasvlakte 2 project. In this context, photographer Dorothée Meyer also did a series of photos of the coastline of the existing Maasvlakte development. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is co-operating with the Netherlands Photo Museum and SKOR (Foundation for Art and Public Space) on these projects. Marcel van Eeden is internationally renowned and has held exhibitions in many museums and galleries in Europe and North America.
You can see a new drawing by Van Eeden every day at www.marcelvaneeden.nl/cm. The Netherlands Photo Museum will exhibit the full series of drawings from mid-May 2010.
Page updated at: 09-14-2009
