large edition | 05
small edition | 15
Eartiids Earnewâld
Identity & change
An image of the village of Earnewâld what it must have looked like a century ago. With the Agnes church tower as its focal point, seen from the old lock.
I started looking for the stories and professions that determined the identity of this area a century ago. The village is located in the heart of Friesland on the edge of a beautiful cultural landscape De Alde Feanen which has become natural, where centuries-old peatland plays the leading role in history. Lakes, petholes, strips, reed lands, peat lakes and wide meadows have been formed over the centuries under the influence of man.
Nowadays it is all tourism and pleasure boating, but in earlier times the water was the highway for the people who lived here. All (freight) transport went over the water with man and / or wind power. Nature, daily life and professions were closely linked. The farmer also had to take his cows across the water to another piece of land.
I spoke to the people of families who have lived there for generations, looked at old photo’s and postcards and read stories and (photo)books in order to be able to make a performance. What is still there, what can I use, how can I go back in time with the elements today?
Of course I want it to be historically correct as far as possible. A number of residents of the village followed in the footsteps of their ancestors, the fishing boat has been restored especially for me, new houses have been replaced, harbor has disappeared, dormer windows have been removed, haystack / jaw mountain has come again …
A number of real Earnewolders followed in the footsteps of their ancestors. Thanks to:
Piebe Wester as a fisker in the Fiskersboats of the Postma family, restored by Age Veldboom. Pytsje Veenstra on the Skûtsje De Jonge Wypke with peat. Ulbe Postma as a skipper on his own pream / mole view. And if you look closely you will see Hilde Terpstra – Kleinhuis near the wasrak.