Flipping the Bird | Jaap Scheeren

Photography from the project “Flipping the Bird” by Jaap Scheeren. This work holds up a mirror to the viewer and shows in both deadly serious and absurdist ways how we relate to nature.

'Flipping the Bird' is part of a narrative visual report of a long and intensive walk in the dunes, in which the main character tries to reconnect with nature. During this walk, he slowly falls in love with the landscape, flora and fauna and thinks that this love is mutual. An extraordinary, surreal, humorous and confrontational dialogue between people, flora and fauna ensues. At the climax, the protagonist finds out whether love is reciprocated and chooses his path....

The story is set in the dunes in relation to the continuous threat of the sea to our humble land. Human actions and the choices we make now and in the future are of great importance in this.

Jaap Scheeren: “I started walking and photographing in the woods and later the dunes and found the ultimate urgency to turn this walking into a project in The 1953 Disaster, especially when I came across the book of the same name in my grandfather's bookcase. A disaster that seems far away, but which I want to see nestled in the collective memory to prevent its recurrence. For me, this story was the key moment to pursue this project.”