Between The Sea & The Sky

by Jimmy Nelson

In his new book Between the Sea and the Sky Jimmy Nelson depicts 20 communities in traditional dress and the environment that formed them, the Netherlands. The result reveals a key part of Dutch identity that has almost completely disappeared into oblivion. As a full immersion in the rich culture of his adopted homeland, Between the Sea and the Sky is also Jimmy Nelson’s most personal book to date.

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Erik B.K.K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dishonest, distasteful, and fetishizing photography. "A key part of Dutch culture"? A key part of the old American obsession with the stereotypical, false belief that us Dutch all live in quaint little houses, wear quaint yellow clogs, pick quaint red tulips every morning, go to work in our quaint little windmills in the afternoon, and stick our quaint little fingers in a dyke every evening to keep our quaint flat country from flooding. NO ONE in The Netherlands dresses like this. And we certainly do not pose like noble savages. If Nelson photographed Native Americans in this way people would call him out for perpetuating the wise old Indian/brave warrior trope. But when he does it with African peoples or Dutch, everyone eats it up apparently.

Two examples:



JN: so in this shot I want you all to stand in the sea.
Them: but we never do that.
JN: doesn't matter. Also, take off your shoes.
Them: it's cold.
JN: do it anyway. And look stern and melancholic. Like you're pining for the Golden Century. And you, place the horses next to them as if you're waiting for the ship to pull.
Him: but the horses aren't wearing their harnasses.
JN: no one will notice.




JN: in this shot I want you to wear this and this together.
Them: but this is a mix of our wedding and church costumes. We never wear these like this.
JN: don't worry, looks great! Now, stand on the ice as if you're skating.
Them: but we never skate on the IJsselmeer. We skate in the canals and ditches. And the ice is too wet.
JN: trust me.
Them: kut, Pieter-Jan, Jelle and Klazien forgot their wooden skates.
JN: no one sees that. No, no, don't pose like you're skating. Just stand there like you're waiting for the train.
Them: ...train?


Truly the fastfood/Marvel-verse (choose your pick) of photography.

[Manon Scholte · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvellous book this is. It's the Jimmy Nelson signature for the Dutch traditional costume. What an amazing work of art. This book also contains stories about the region or town where the photographs were taken. I think this book is art in the form of a book.

[Sander van der Heide · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stunning photos are made with a titanium 10 x 8 GP810TI analogue camera (digitized at 500MP). It’s not an easy camera, but in the hands of photographer Jimmy Nelson, you get these mesmerizing pictures. I really like the way it the book gets promoted with all these background videos, a beautiful website, a special bookstand and even an app that scans the photos and provides you with all these extra info. Also the subject, forgotten Dutch traditional costumes, has never been presented this way, a worthy historical document. The only thing I don’t like so much in the book is all these ‘behind the scenes’ kind of photos in between. It’s almost like they added the leftovers to fill the book. Just when you get sucked in the atmosphere, you’re back in reality again. Without that, it would have worked better. Also the photos with modern windmills have the same effect. Without Covid, this book would have probably never been made, since mister Nelson couldn’t travel the world for his other projects. A blessing in disguise.