The new exhibition ‘Rescuers at Sea’ is a tribute to the people who risk their lives for the safety of others.

From February 23, the National Maritime Museum will present the new exhibition Rescuers at Sea: 200 years of KNRM with photography by Jeroen Hofman and Robin de Puy. In 2024, the Royal Dutch Rescue Society will celebrate its 200th anniversary. The exhibition focuses on this organization, with volunteers who risk their lives to save people in distress at sea.

Captured
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Dutch photographers Jeroen Hofman (1976) and Robin de Puy (1986) were commissioned to capture the rescue company in their own vision. Hofman has depicted the locations, the fleet and the surroundings of the rescue stations from his favorite perspective: from above. The volunteers are portrayed by De Puy: without their dry suits and life jackets, but as themselves in their daily lives. The face of the rescuer, without bright orange distraction, but near the water; the place that is their home.

First female rescuer

The photo of Corrie van der Haven-Eikelenboom (1936), portrayed by De Puy, is striking. She was the very first female rescuer of the KNRM. In 1972 she reported to Burghsluis, the current Neeltje Jans rescue station. For years she was the only female rescuer in the country, in 2024 the KNRM sailing team has 25 women.

About the photographers
Hofman studied photography at KABK in The Hague and has already won the Silver Camera twice in his career. De Puy trained at the Rotterdam Photo Academy, and has won the Dutch Portrait Prize and the Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize several times.

Exhibition Rescuers at Sea: 200 years of KNRM, February 23 to October 6, 2024, Het Scheepvaartmuseum, Kattenburgerplein 1, daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.