Just Different

On Saturday 12 December 2026, Pennings Foundation opens Just Different, a new exhibition by former Photographer of the Netherlands Jan Dirk van der Burg. Van der Burg, who gained recognition with his photobook Olifantenpaadjes (2011), presented the large retrospective Typisch Nederland at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in 2022, accompanied by the publication of the book of the same name. At Pennings Foundation, he now shows a continuation of that project through several series. In addition, the projection Typisch Nederland (2022) will be shown again. 

About Just Different, he says:

“For me, the word gewoon — ‘normal’, ‘just’, ‘plain’ — is even more of a monument in the Netherlands than the concept of gezellig. The implicit expectation it carries is unmatched. No fuss, no nonsense: just normal. The mutual desire embedded in it — that something behaves the way you would consider normal — makes it a widely used prefix. Especially in small and medium-sized businesses: I think of Gewoon Kaas, Supermarkt Gewoon, Gewoon Hout, Gewoon Roel (plumber) or Gewoon Kim (florist), or the Spar’s house brand: g’woon.

Paulien Cornelisse wrote in Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding that gewoon is used to make something that is not normal seem normal. As in: ‘then you just drive to Bucharest and back this weekend’, or ‘then you just get a divorce’. It sounds like a major undertaking, but add gewoon and suddenly it seems doable. It is the magic wand of the Dutch language. Because the desire to behave normally  - that socially desirable behaviour we’ve been taught so often - is deeply ingrained. But then there are interior shops and restaurants that experiment. They call themselves Gewoon Anders (‘Just Different’) or Gewoon Lekker Anders. That’s when I short-circuit. Is it normal or is it different? Or is it completely natural to do things just differently? I think that’s the right path. At Pennings Foundation I show ordinary photographs that, together, deserve the label just different.”

Jan Dirk van der Burg (1978) graduated from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague in 2004 with a series on office culture, after previously studying at the School of Journalism in Utrecht. In 2018 he was appointed Photographer of the Netherlands, a title he held until 2022. He writes columns on photographic imagery for de Volkskrant, NRC and Pf, and regularly performs in theatres with his photo-comedy. He has published several photobooks, including Olifantenpaadjes (2011), Nederland onder het systeemplafond (2020), Typisch Nederland (2022) and Waar wil je me hebben? (2025). jandirk.com

In January 2027, Jan Dirk van der Burg will be a guest at Fotokafeine at Pennings Foundation. The date will be announced as soon as possible.