Writer Adriaan van Dis (NL, 1946) and artist Harald Vlugt (NL, 1957) share a strong connection to the North Holland coast. The former artists’ village of Bergen provided the backdrop to Vlugt’s childhood, and Van Dis’s writing is rooted in nearby Bergen aan Zee, where he was born into a family that came from Indonesia after experiencing Japanese internment. The North Holland coast is where they both keep returning.
Van Dis and Vlugt have collaborated on several occasions and team up once again for My Coast. The book and exhibition together stories about Bergen aan Zee by Van Dis, who writes about the sea that dwarfs his worries, the extraordinary characters who have left their mark on the place and the children who still run through the dunes. Vlugt read the texts many times before setting them aside to spend a year creating a series of twenty-three collages that, together with Van Dis’s writing, portray a much-loved place filled with conflicting emotions. The collages combine a range of materials and often include historical imagery of Bergen and its surroundings. As well as using paper, Vlugt incorporates three-dimensional elements, enhancing the textural quality of the works.
My Coast portrays a coastal village in North Holland through the eyes of a writer and an artist, capturing its sea, landscape and the people who make it their home, however briefly.
Adriaan van Dis
Born in Bergen aan Zee, Adriaan van Dis (NL, 1946) made his literary debut in 1983 with the novella Nathan Sid, which won the Gouden Ezelsoor. Many acclaimed and popular novels have followed, including (1994). In 2015, he received the Constantijn Huygens Prize for his body of work. His novel Tenderness and a Warm Embrace (Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen, 2023) won the 2024 NS Audience Award.
Harald Vlugt
Harald Vlugt (NL, 1957) was born in Bergen and is an artist known for his elaborately layered collages and assemblages. His work is held in numerous collections, including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Vlugt has collaborated with several authors, including Adriaan van Dis and Joost Zwagerman.
