photo: © Twycer – Angels of the Sea, Stephan Vanfleteren
From September 18, 2020 through April 5, 2021, the National Maritime Museum presented photographer Stephan Vanfleteren’s exhibition Angels of the Sea in collaboration with the Dutch National Portrait Gallery.
Angels of the Sea consists of a series of moving portraits of boys ages six to sixteen at the Royal Work IBIS maritime boarding school in Bredene, Belgium. Stephan Vanfleteren portrayed children from complex family situations in their traditional sailor suits: the “angels of the sea.”
These are children whose lives are just beginning. Some are tough teenagers who stare confidently into the lens. Others look uncertain and still have to grow into their oversized jackets.
Vanfleteren’s penetrating portraits are interspersed with historical images of the boarding school from the past hundred years. They offer a glimpse into the boys’ private, protected world, their new “home,” and their new identity as sailors.
At the IBIS boarding school, they find a safe harbor. The school provides housing, care, and, above all, a future. This was the first time the complete portrait series was shown in the Netherlands together with historical IBIS photographs and film footage.
“When you look into those eyes, you look into a sea of possibility. And the shore is safe.”
— Stephan Vanfleteren on Angels of the Sea
Vanfleteren (Belgium, 1969) is one of the best-known and most acclaimed photographers in the Low Countries.
Royal Work IBIS was founded in 1906 to provide a safe home for orphans from fishing families. The school cared for fishermen’s orphans while also helping address the shortage of properly trained fishermen.
IBIS was established aboard a former 43-meter gunboat. This floating school had room for eighty children. At age twelve, the students left the ship to work aboard school fishing vessels, where they completed their training as sailors or fishermen. Since its founding, IBIS has housed as many as two thousand boys and now operates from a building on shore.
“The day I no longer find the sea interesting is the day I am a dead man.” — Stephan Vanfleteren
Today’s students—often children from difficult home situations—include both boys and girls, and they remain at the school until age 16. It gives them the opportunity to find their place in society after completing their education. Structure and discipline remain central.
Stephan Vanfleteren studied photography at Sint-Lukas Brussels University College (1988–1992) and worked for publications including the Flemish newspaper De Morgen. His work has appeared in magazines such as Le Monde 2, Independent Magazine, Die Zeit, Knack, Humo, and Volkskrant Magazine. Vanfleteren devotes considerable time to personal projects in which he keenly observes the world around him. The sea and people connected to it appear frequently in his work.
Angels of the Sea – Stephan Vanfleteren
Shown from September 18, 2020 through April 5, 2021 at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam
