Rini Hurkmans
Flag of Compassion Stories
2013

A story by Julienne Straatman

Amsterdam, June 14 2013

Fragment of the speech

"My personal gift to you is a work of art, created out of an idea, a concept, and within which art and society come together. The artist is Rini Hurkmans and the work is a flag.

Why a flag? A flag is a lucid symbol, distinctive, guiding, visible, connecting, giving an identity and is a signal at once. This flag exists in various editions, but this one is a special edition of the flag of Compassion. This flag, measuring this size and commissioned by me, is specially made for the museum.

The white field symbolises purity, non-violence and peace. The golden yellow bar represents vital energy, human dignity and compassion: the positive forces of humanity.

Why this flag?

So this flag is not a symbol of a nation, a land, a society, a political party or a belief, but it stands for a universal human value and a higher body of thought. As for me, it is not about the type of flag one’s sailing under, but about the direction one’s heading or, the goal. See it as my personal mission and my best wishes for your future.

So, no pettiness towards the short term, but the wide outlook towards the horizon, with human leadership and competent flag-bearers, the flag on top, so to say, worthy of a maritime museum."

Julienne Straatman

More about the Flag and the National Maritime Museum.

Related