Since the end of the Cold War in 1990 nearly 90.000 Dutch soldiers have been involved in peacekeeping operations. Despite the associated dangers young men – and women – do their duty. Their motivations are diverse, they range from love of adventure over idealism and responsibility to the need of camaraderie.
Not much reaches the public, the peace operations don’t provide spectacular images and stories, unless something goes wrong.
The photographer Ad van Denderen gives the anonymous actions an identity. He has photographed the Dutch army on its way to and during their work in Afghanistan, portraits the soldiers’ friends and relatives and also visits the families whose children will never return.
Van Denderen’s pictures show the soldier’s everyday life, their life in container camps, their work routine during street controls as well as exercises with armors and weapons. This everyday routine stands in a barely solvable contrast with the constantly existing danger and the emotional burden, which weighs on the soldiers and their loved ones. Van Denderen’s pictures reveal this very clearly.
They allow us to get an intimate and realistic view behind the coulisse and raise the question why these young men choose the military service and if the awarded medals are an adequate honor and tribute for them.
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Paradox, 2009 /// 200 x 250 mm /// 174 pages /// 66 color illustrations /// softcover /// Dutch, English
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€26.80
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