Feyenoord - Willem de Kam — Football Case Study

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Exploration: is a photo series dedicated to the spirit of following one’s whim. Our members will let curiosity lead the way in searching for unique football cultures.

10 FEYENOORD ROTTERDAM

FCS-ID: 010/WdK10523—31

PHOTOGRAPHER: WILLEM de KAM
LOCATION: ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
DATE: MAY 2023
FCS-ID: FCS-ID: 010/WdK10523—31

Rotterdam-based Willem de Kam shares a selection of unfiltered images documenting the spectrum of raw emotions on a Feyenoord match day. As he goes on to explain, these natural and in many ways primal displays of emotion- from jubilation to anger and despair- are often met by forces that seek to control them.

“At art school I made work about the things that fascinated me. During my graduation, one of my projects was about natural processes that are chaotic and our human urge to control them. In The Netherlands we completely designed the landscape ourselves. This urge to control nature and keep it within boundaries is, in my opinion, also seen in football. A crowd is a very primal chaotic phenomenon. So in The Netherlands there’s a real struggle with dealing with that. Away ends are completely fenced off. There’s travel restrictions placed on almost all games. Police get stressed when 100 supporters travel to another city.

But there’s loads of different aspects in football culture that I love and/or fascinate me. The community aspect of it, the religious role it took away from churches. But at the core I’ll always be amazed about our behavior in the stands, jumping up and down, shouting at the top of our lungs, for a few guys who just do their day job really well.”

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