While the cyclists in the Tour de France have left the Netherlands and Belgium behind them and cycled into the hexagon, there is an interesting exhibition to go and visit in Rotterdam on “Flandriens”, by the top Flemish photographer Stephan Vanfleteren (°1969).
”Flandriens” are cyclists who bump their way over the hard cobbles of Flanders and Northern France, exuding the work ethic more than the technique of this sport that is so extraordinarily popular in Flanders and Belgium.
Vanfleteren portrays not only the weather-beaten faces of several generations of cycling icons, but also shows the landscapes of the Flemish Ardennes and the Northern French cobbled roads where the epos of mythical races like the “Tour of Flanders” (Ronde van Vlaanderen) and “Paris-Roubaix” is set, the spectators along the road, the people watching on television in cafés and the signalmen. This photographer touches on the melancholy of cycling, of gains, losses and hard labour, like none other.
With his camera Vanfleteren immortalized Eddy Merckx (photo above left), Briek Schotte (above right), Roger De Vlaeminck (below left) and Rik Van Looy (below right).
The exhibition is on till 1 August in the municipal cultural centre LP II, next to the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Admission is free of charge on presentation of a ticket for the Fotomuseum.
Friesland
Those who want to see more of Vanfleteren can carry on to Friesland after Rotterdam. Until 29 August, the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden is presenting the Flakkelân exhibition with work by Stephan Vanfleteren. The photos are the result of a commission the Fries Museum and the newspaper, the Leeuwarder Courant, gave to Vanfleteren.
For the commission Vanfleteren immersed himself in the role that the past plays in modern Friesland. The result is a personal story with a typical mixture of portrait and landscape.
Photo: Wierum, 2010.
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