On the first described page of my past... (Op de eerste beschreven pagina van mijn verleden...)

About this artwork.

The poem can be found in the pavement at Eeldersingel 38, where Rommert Boonstra was born on 7 April 1942. In the poem, he describes his memories of the Second World War and its devastating consequences for Groningen city centre. Among other things, the buildings on the north and east sides of the Grote Markt went up in flames. 
 
Other work in Groningen by Rommert Boonstra – a poem and a photograph – can be found on a wall in the garden of the former Nature Museum and under the Herebrug bridge. 
 
Boonstra gained fame throughout the Netherlands mainly through his staged photography, which can be seen in train compartments of the Dutch Railways, among other places. “Whoever thinks the snapshot captures reality is not right in the head. The photograph captures the unreality; what it records is the past”, he says. In order to anticipate the illusory reality and transience of the snapshot, Boonstra himself directs what needs to be photographed. He compiles imaginary landscapes, spaces and still lifes into photographic stories using all kinds of materials.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Rommert Boonstra

• District
  Schildersbuurt, Zeeheldenbuurt & Kostverloren

• Year of creation
  2000

• Art type
  Design, Art in the road surface, floor or ground

• Material
  Granite

• Dimensions
  h 1,65 x b 1,20 m