Warzone (1995-2002)
I vividly remember the day I had to do my military service. Later, when I was at art school, I wondered how to represent this photographically: you are about 18 years old, you have just left school and you have to go into the army against your will. This prompted me to do a number of projects on military service and military missions in the Balkans and Afghanistan. Looking back, this work has a bridging function to my later conceptual projects on the consequences of wars and conflicts.
Projects:
In 1995 I followed the last batch of young men in the Netherlands to be drafted into military service.
Book publication: ‘The Last Batch – A farewell to conscription / ‘De laatste lichting – Afscheid van de dienstplicht’ (Het Apollohuis).
Works from this project are included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
In 1999-2000 I made as an independent photographer, and in cooperation with the Royal Dutch Army Museum, a series about Dutch troops who were stationed in Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo after the Yugoslav wars.
Book publication: ‘Tussen vijandige buren’ (Mets en Schilt).
In 2001 I photographed the aftermath of the Albanian insurgency in Macedonia.
In 2002 I made, in cooperation with the Royal Dutch Army Museum, a series about Dutch troops who were part of a NATO led mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Book publication: ‘Kabul’ (Legermuseum).
Works from this project are included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
“Roemers saw it. He has captured a strange, inhospitable country, its inhabitants full of suspicion toward the peacekeepers. There is no longer any sign of elation at the arrival of armed Western troops. This is an explosive atmosphere.”
— NRC Handelsblad (Review ‘Kabul’)