The West Coast of Europe – a photographic  journey from Skagen to Gibraltar

An exhibition by Jens Fink Jensen -

in co-operation with the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg, Denmark

For the first time ever the entire west coast of mainland Europe is presented in just one exhibition. The writer and photographer Jens Fink-Jensen has travelled along the 10,000 kilometre-long west coast of Europe from Skagen to Gibraltar and described the frontier between land and sea in words and pictures.

“The west coast of Europe” is a traveller’s tale about cultural differences, but definitely also about similarities, about a common, unbroken coastland which exists across the national frontiers of Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar.

The west coast of Europe from Skagen to Gibraltar offers a magnificent countryside and a varied culture. It is the coast of dunes, beaches and cliffs, but also of dikes, locks, lagoons and capes. It is speckled with history, which has left numerous traces. For centuries the west coast of Europe has been the scene of explorers, pirates and wars, for emigrants the last glimpse of Europe and for traders, sailors, fishermen and whalers it has provided safe harbours and a base for maritime enterprices. Most recently, it has become the coast of tourists and – especially the southern part – of sun and water worshippers.

Jens Fink-Jensen (born in 1956) is a writer, photographer and composer. He is the author of several collections of poems, short stories and children’s books and has set up many photo exhibitions and multimedia performances. In 2008 The West Coast of Europe – a Photo Journey from Skagen to Gibraltar is also published as a book by the publishing house Rosenkilde in 2008.

The exhibition was staged at the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg from October 2008 to April 2009 and will be staged in at the maritime museums in Rotterdam and Dunkerque at a later stage.

  

 

North Sea Passenger Lines – New Exhibition and Publication

For centuries ships have connected the countries and people around the North Sea bringing cargo and passengers from one place to the other. However, it was not until the introduction of steam power in the 1820s that vessels were freed of the uncertainty of the wind and regular lines with steady departure and arrival times emerged.

                      At the starting point the regular lines connected major cities around the North Sea but over time minor cities and harbours were also included. This was not least true when the growth, from around 1850 onwards, of the railroad networks in Britain and Europe onwards made transportation on land much easier – and even more so when the automobile arrived in the beginning of the 20th century.

Originally the regular lines were based on cargo rather than passengers but improving economy and especially the growth of tourism changed the concept of the ships from primarily being cargo liners with accommodation for passengers to floating hotels with good cabins, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and a tax free supermarket on board. From the 1960s onwards the number of passengers on board the North Sea lines grew to very large numbers and the vessels used in this traffic became ever larger.

The concept of the floating hotel seemed to be a fixture but by the end of the 20th century increasing competition from cut-price airline services among other things, together with an EU-mandated abolition of duty-free sales on board vessels plying between EU member states, placed the economic viability of the passenger lines under great pressure. Quite a few of the lines were closed down and on the remaining lines new vessels, based on the Ro-Pax principle, were introduced. Once again freight was considered more important than carriage of passengers.  

The book and the exhibition tell the story of the North Sea passenger lines over a period of more than one hundred and fifty years. Each contribution has a national or even regional perspective but they all link together and prove just how the North Sea connects rather than divides the people around it.

The North Sea Passenger Lines-project which will be staged 2009-12 came through with financial support of The Association of North Sea Cities, whose backing of the project is gratefully acknowledged.

 

The Horizon - 55° 24.67 N /08° 11.62 E – Grådyb

On occasion of the hundred and fortieth anniversary of Esbjerg Harbour and the Fisheries and Maritime Museum’s fortieth anniversary in 2008 the museum has initiated an exhibition and a book on a theme that connects the two; the Grådyb deep.
The Grådyb deep is the life nerve of Esbjerg Harbour and at the same time the fantastic view from the Fisheries and Maritime Museum. “The Horizon - 55° 24.67 N /08° 11.62 E – Grådyb” is photographer Bent Sørensen’s poetic tribute to the horizon,

Grådyb and the multitude of maritime activities at the coordinates 55° 24.67 N /08° 11.62 E. In addition Morten Hahn-Pedersen, director of the Fisheries and Maritime Museum, tells the history of the maritime development around Grådyb.
The exhibition is staged at the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg until end October 2008. After having been staged in Esbjerg the exhibition will be offered as a traveling exhibition. Museums interested in staging the exhibition should contact Morten Hahn-Pedersen (e-mail: mhp@fimus.dk – phone: +45 76 12 20 00 – mobile: +45 20 48 31 61).
 

Please look for further information on www.graadyb.com
 

The Fisheries and Maritime Museum/Seawater Aquarium in Esbjerg
www.fimus.dk


Where the Sea Ends
Martin Rheinheimer
128 p. ill. ISBN 87-90982-17-7. DKK 148,00.
It is a rare occasion when the Fisheries and Maritime Museum publishes an explicit picture book. It is just as rare an occasion, however, to find photographs that rise so far above being objective records that they turn into pictorial art. Only the term art is capable af capturing the essence of Martin Rheinheimer's photographs, however. Thirty years behind the lens of a camera have given him a sharp eye for composition and details, a special eye for both the commonplace and the unique, as well as an ability to freeze a movement at the decisive split second. The sea and maritime life are the focus of Rheinheimer's scolarly work at the University of Southern Denmark in Esbjerg, where since his arrival in 1999 he has had the
 



opportunity to supplement his analytical approach to the topic with photografic excursions along the west coast of Jutland.
These excursions resulted in tens og thousands of pictures. For this book, he has selected about one hundred of them, which invite readers on a very special journey along the coast and inspire you to take a fresh look at the stark nature ind the land "where the sea ends".

North Sea Lights
Edited by Morten Hahn-Pedersen.
103 p. ill. ISBN 87-90982-12-6. DKK 148,00

For centuries ships sailed mainly during daylight hours where the sailors were able to follow the coastline, find landmarks and watch out for dangerous reefs and sandbanks along the coast. It was only when crossing open seas that seamen dared to sail in darkness. As international shipping increased still more ships had to sail end even approach harbours through the night. This created a need for lights along the coast and the harbours so that the ships could navigate in a safe manner at night time. This book tells the story of North Sea Lights in the eight countries surrounding our common sea.
 


The book may be regarded as a catalogue for the exhibition entitled North Sea Lights which will be travelling the eight North Sea countries in the years 2003 to 2006, but given the form of a book this pictorial narrative will hopefully last longer than the exhibition.