Annegien van Doorn

This photograph was taken on board of a cruise ship. I see these immense cruise ships passing by my studio window in Amsterdam regularly. I had always wondered what daily life on a cruise looked like, so one day I simply booked a last minute ticket to the Mediterranean Sea.

Once aboard the ship, I couldn’t move without being observed by the cruise staff. The ship was just about 60% booked, basically resulting in a ratio of two crew members for every three passengers. The only place I could escape to was my 12m2 cabin. That’s probably why the very first photograph I took onboard was this one. It’s a folded bed sheet with a remote control on my bed.

Every day the bed sheet was folded in a new shape. I photographed these different creations, and I became aware of the similarities between the work of the room attendant and my work as an artist. Both of us intervene in everyday situations and through that, everyday objects obtain new meaning.