Laten we voorop stellen dat je sowieso bent geboren voor het geluk.

On Christmas Eve 2009 photographer Mariska van Zutven places a contact advert on Marktplaats in which she states that she is looking for a man with a fruit tree in his garden. Her request receives almost 4000 hits, 40 men reply. One contact stands out: Ton. What follows is a long e-mail dialogue with this fruit tree owner.

The book is a combination of text and image; the texts originate from 123 mails between ‘Bellefleur’ and her date Ton, the photos depict the journey and the search in the real world. A witty and topical portrait of doubting singles who feel they have to place themselves in a market society as a product for men, and a witty story about longing and the fear of being abandoned (again).

Mariska van Zutven (1969) graduated in Photography from the AKV St. Joost in 2008.
Van Zutven works both in text and image, both autonomously and on commission and teaches photography at the Fontys Academie Beeldende Vorming / ArtCoDe & Avans+.

Topical now that it has become completely normal to find your true love through a dating site or dating app.

A witty and funny book!