Haarlem (South Africa)
Ongoing Documentary Project
In this series I document the small rural mission village called Haarlem. Yes - Haarlem.
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There is a Haarlem in the Netherlands and a Haarlem in South Africa. The second was named after the first, by people who had left it, and the two have had nothing to do with each other since.
This is one chapter of an ongoing project photographing the places that share names across the history of Dutch colonialism. A study in unrealised connection. What links communities that have never met. What stays invisible because nobody has thought to look.
The South African Haarlem is a village in the Langkloof, Western Cape, laid out in 1856 and run as a Berlin Missionary Society station from 1860. Teachers came, and freed slaves. The name arrived from six thousand miles away and stayed.
I was born in South Africa and live in the Netherlands, so this is not a neutral survey. It is an attempt to understand my own relationship to two places I call home, and what that relationship is made of.
The pictures are of houses, streets, walls and the people who live among them.
The narrative is of disconnection.
By documenting these wildly disparate places that nevertheless share names,
my desire is for people to recognise each other as people. As mothers, fathers, daughters, brothers.
Sweep
Road sweeper in Haarlem, South Africa
Helpmekaarsaal
Helpmekaarsaal = Help Each Other Hall
Empty Home In Haarlem 1
Nobody lives here anymore
Empty Home In Haarlem 1
Nobody lives here anymore
Outside Toilet
Outside Toilet in Haarlem, South Africa
Rugby Field 1
Rugby Field 1 in Haarlem, South Africa
SK Shop
The SK Shop - a rural general supply store in Haarlem.
Church House
The house near the big church. Haarlem, South Africa.
Busy
Busy man. Things to do. Places to go.
Rugby Field 2
Rugby Field. Trash caught in barbed wire fencing.
Dog and Street Lighting
And the vast emptiness of The Karoo beyond.
Modern Super Shop
This is the Modern Super Shop. In Haarlem, South Africa.
Haarlem Train Station
Haarlem Train Station, Karoo, South Africa.
Nothing To See Here
Nothing To See Here
Rugby Field 3
Rugby Field, Broken down home, vast Karoo beyond.
Available as Editions
This series is offered only as hand-signed limited editions of eleven. There are no open edition prints from Haarlem - the work belongs with collectors, galleries and institutions rather than in general circulation.
Sweep, 2026
€650
€1,400
Helpmekaarsaal, 2026
€650
€1,400
Empty Home In Haarlem 1, 2026
€650
€1,400
Empty Home In Haarlem 2, 2026
€650
€1,400
Outside Toilet, 2026
€650
€1,400
Rugby Field 1, 2026
€650
€1,400
SK Shop, 2026
€650
€1,400
Church House, 2026
€650
€1,400
Busy, 2026
€650
€1,400
Rugby Field 2, 2026
€650
€1,400
Dog and Street Lighting, 2026
€650
€1,400
Modern Super Shop, 2026
€650
€1,400
Haarlem Train Station, 2026
€650
€1,400
Nothing To See Here, 2026
€650
€1,400
Rugby Field 3, 2026
€650
€1,400
Edition Pricing
70 × 100 cm, edition of 11
100 × 140 cm, edition of 5
The price at time of enquiry is held for fourteen days. Prices are for unframed works; framing is quoted separately.
How the Editions Work
Each work is produced in a hand-signed, numbered edition, supplied with a certificate of authenticity and a recorded provenance. Each format is its own edition, eleven at 70 × 100 cm and five at 100 × 140 cm .
Once a format closes, no further prints are made at that size.
Images from this series are not available as commerical or open editions.
Edition pricing rises as the edition sells. The price at time of enquiry is held for fourteen days.
Prices are for unframed works; framing is quoted separately, since at this size it is usually specified by the buyer or their designer. One or two artist's proofs are retained outside the edition.
Enquire About an Edition
Tell me which work and which size interests you and I will come back to you with availability, the current edition number and framing options.