PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Set in 1979 ‘The Imaginary Friend’ is a story divided into fourteen chapters. With the panoramic entrance over the river De Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam as the setting, before the railway tunnel was put into use, The Imaginary Friend depicts a dream of a young woman who in the early eighties commutes every morning by train.
Across the Maas bridges on the Dordrecht-Rotterdam (the Netherlands) route She passes the ruins of an abandoned bridge keeper’s tower and dreams that a friend lives there who gives colour to the grey days. She decides to bring him to life. Under her hands and those of sculptor Stuart Smith of Madame Tussauds, Amsterdam (which was in build up in that time), the person Von Tuzzi (‘Fantasy’) takes shape and his existence can be followed very closely by the train passengers.
The Polaroids are made by the young writer Pieter van Oudheusden, who, like a paparazzo, appears to have captured the enigmatic inhabitant of the tower. This previously unseen material was recently released, and Bob Goedewaagen’s digital processing and enlargement of a selection of these photos has surprisingly created an entirely new visual story that is as poignant and elusive as the poetic images that passed by the train travelers at the time.

BOOK INFORMATION

Trim Size: 9.5 x 11.4 x 0.55 inch

Number of Pages: 138

Binding Method: Sewn bound in paper covered binding, minimal overhang

Paper: (inside) Magno Volume wit, 135 gram, (end papers) Muskat Grey, 140 gram, (cover) Wibalin Natural 500 White, 120 gram

Typefaces: Bradford

CREDIT INFORMATION

Creative Director:

Art Director:

Book Designer: Jeremy Jansen

Jacket/Cover Designer: Jeremy Jansen

Illustrator:

Photographer: Polaroids: Pieter van Oudheusden / Digital Photography: Bob Goedewaagen

Picture Editor: Anne Mieke Backer, Jeremy Jansen

Production Director:

Production Coordinator:

Production Artist: Anne Mieke Backer

Other Credits:

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