ISLAND is a book about the Havenstraatterrein in Amsterdam, one of the last fringe areas within the city. I spent two years photographing the area, and the people that worked, lived or practiced their hobbies there.
The Havenstraatterrein was a rough place built up of Quonset huts and shacks. The interesting thing is that it was located within the city, on expensive land. It had been there since the early 70s and was able to survive all that time. Places like this give cities space to breathe, they are places to experiment, there is more freedom, but they don’t stand a chance. Investors and politicians had been trying to develop the area for decades.
There was a thrift store, a clothing outlet, a guy who repaired old military vehicles, a harpsichord builder, a few artists, a bicycle repair shop, a place where old trams were restored, a beer brewery, a special effects expert, scrap metal recycling, a garage, several hobbyists, some animals, a handful of residents, and more.
They were a group of extraordinary individuals who formed a community because of the place and the situation they were in. Here they found a place where they could live, work, and be, in a way that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else in the city.
The area was shut down on 6 March 2024 and has since been demolished.
This is the final document of an area and an era, and of a way of life, that never will return. It’s a beautiful memory for Amsterdam but it’s more than that: it’s a tribute to all places like this that disappeared for the same reasons.
Name: Island
Photography: Daniel Nicolas
Design: -SYB- (www.syb-photobooks.com)
Printing: Wilco Art Books
Price: € 65,- incl Btw
248 pages/ 115 photos
Hard Cover, Sewn Swiss Binding
240 mm x 300 mm
ISBN: 9789090381923
First edition of 500
Self published
The Havenstraatterrein was a rough place built up of Quonset huts and shacks. The interesting thing is that it was located within the city, on expensive land. It had been there since the early 70s and was able to survive all that time. Places like this give cities space to breathe, they are places to experiment, there is more freedom, but they don’t stand a chance. Investors and politicians had been trying to develop the area for decades.
There was a thrift store, a clothing outlet, a guy who repaired old military vehicles, a harpsichord builder, a few artists, a bicycle repair shop, a place where old trams were restored, a beer brewery, a special effects expert, scrap metal recycling, a garage, several hobbyists, some animals, a handful of residents, and more.
They were a group of extraordinary individuals who formed a community because of the place and the situation they were in. Here they found a place where they could live, work, and be, in a way that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else in the city.
The area was shut down on 6 March 2024 and has since been demolished.
This is the final document of an area and an era, and of a way of life, that never will return. It’s a beautiful memory for Amsterdam but it’s more than that: it’s a tribute to all places like this that disappeared for the same reasons.
Name: Island
Photography: Daniel Nicolas
Design: -SYB- (www.syb-photobooks.com)
Printing: Wilco Art Books
Price: € 65,- incl Btw
248 pages/ 115 photos
Hard Cover, Sewn Swiss Binding
240 mm x 300 mm
ISBN: 9789090381923
First edition of 500
Self published