Ik kom uit Ondiep

Ik kom uit Ondiep is the story of Jac de Groot. Like his father, Jac loves photography. And like his father, he grew up in Ondiep. Now his daughter and grandchildren live in this Utrecht neighborhood, where different generations have lived close to each other. 

On his ninth birthday Jac received his first camera with only three modes: Sunny, Cloudy and Bad Weather. With this, like his father, he took pictures of his family. Posed or at an unguarded moment. Jac’s photo collection shows the life in a working-class neighborhood over the years. Meanwhile, he also registers the changes in this original district.

As fellow residents of Ondiep, we have seen up close that the neighborhood is changing. This is not only dictated by the passage of time, but also by changing ideas about life and coexistence. With the demolition and replacement of the small and drafty houses, the old working-class neighborhoods’ sense of community is also slowly disappearing. Therefore, like Jac, we have captured what is left before it disappears. Drawing on his photographs and anecdotes, we and photographer Tahné Kleijn have created contemporary scenes of Jac and his family. Together they form a tribute to the small and mundane of a slowly disappearing phenomenon.