This book retraces, like a walk through time and space, the various stages which led to the creation of Colours on the Beach by Karel Martens, a site-specific public work presented as part of the 2017 event A Summer in Le Havre. The work is a tribute to the beach of Le Havre (one of the most popular beaches in France) as well as to the motto: united in diversity. 

The volume is an authentic collection of treasures and of current and future visual archival material. Divided into four parts, Colours on the Beach, presents both the specific history of Le Havre as well as the process Martens used to conceive and design his installation. A section of the book is devoted to an atlas of colors and stripes, revealing the secret meanings hidden in the work. Photographs of the project installed create a record of the evolution of the work in relation to the natural environment.

Recognized as a Best Dutch Design Book of 2017

Translation by Nigel Forrest

Designed by Karel Martens and Aagje Martens

Published by Éditions Non Standard, 2017
Bilingual, in French and English

Softcover, 192 pages, full color, 6.75 × 9.5 inches

ISBN : 979-1-09-693900-8