The Story of Turtle

The Story of Turtle shows a revolution in the field of art transport, created from a fresh perspective, inspired by time in the sea. 

 

We are thrilled to be able to release The Story of Turtle, a mini-documentary by renowned Dutch documentary maker Oeke Hoogendijk about a revolution in art transport.

Renowned documentary maker Oeke Hoogendijk, known for her film ‘My Rembrandt’, now presents a new mini-documentary about the Turtle. In The Story of Turtle, she shows how priceless works of art can be transported safely and sustainably in the revolutionary, reusable transport crate.

Art has traditionally been transported in custom-made wooden boxes that are used only once. In the eight-minute documentary The Story of Turtle, Hizkia van Kralingen, director and owner of the art transport company of the same name, from The Hague, explains the how and why of his invention for sustainable art transport, which has been in use since 1994: the Turtle - a safe, innovative and reusable solution for the transport of valuable artworks. His many years of surfing led him to think about how strong surfboards are, which inspired him to develop a transport crate that can withstand impact and the idea continued to develop. Since the production and extensive testing of the Turtle, artworks by Vincent van Gogh, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt have now been safely traveling the world in a Turtle for 25 years.

Hizkia van Kralingen: "Oeke Hoogendijk is a phenomenon in the art world. We met for the first time in 2014, worked together in 2015 and got in touch again when she made ‘My Rembrandt’. The work behind the scenes of an exhibition, with the packaging and transport of art, aroused her interest and her enthusiasm for the Turtle has now created this gem of a mini-doc."

In order to show art to the world, the art has to travel. In the early nineties, the demand from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag (formerly Gemeentemuseum Den Haag) was the reason for developing the Turtle. "Most important is the safe transport of masterpieces around the world," says Hizkia van Kralingen. The mini-doc shows, among other things, a painting by Rembrandt being transported in a Turtle from the Duke of Buccleuch’s castle in Scotland to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, to be exhibited at the Rembrandt-Velázquez exhibition which opened in October 2019. The exhibition was opened by King Willem-Alexander and the King of Spain.

 

About Oeke Hoogendijk

The documentary 'My Rembrandt' by Oeke Hoogendijk had its world premiere at the IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) last year. The director also made the award-winning documentary ‘The New Rijksmuseum’, about the large-scale renovation and refurbishment of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Oeke Hoogendijk has been awarded several times for her work. She received the Silver Nipkow Disk, the Golden Calf at the Netherlands Film Festival, the Prix D’Italia, the IDFA ‘Best Dutch Documentary 2014’, among other awards.

 

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