Stephan Keppel conducted a photographic and print-tech study of one of the shelters set up in Amsterdam during the Cold War: the Vondel Bridge (Bridge 200), built in 1946 to a design by Amsterdam School architect Piet Kramer. The bridge witnessed many significant events in the 20th century: its construction was interrupted by World War II, it was an atomic shelter during the Cold War, briefly the scene of emerging youth culture and a strategic point during violent squatter riots in 1980. Today, the “Vondel bunker” programs music performances, debates, actions and visual arts. Keppel started photographing the graffiti and slogans under the bridge and used these images to create new, highly graphic works. In them, the curved lines and ornamentation of the architecture contrast with the traces of graffiti spray paint and the raw interior of the atomic bunker.
Frits Gierstberg Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam 2020
First prize Winner Somfy Award 2020 Thanks to Somfy, Huub Koene, Team Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam and the Jury.
STEPHAN KEPPEL 