Curacao’s Cathedral of Thorns – Stamp Sheet in a Beautiful Folder

Nafl.24.52

Beautifully Designed Folder
Date of Issue: May 20th, 2021
Designer: Max van Aalst
Face Value of Stamps: 4x 500c
Stamp paper: 110 grs. PVA gummed true white
Printing: Offset Sheet
Color: CMYK
Printer: Johan Enschede Security Print ,Haarlem, The Netherlands
Size of Block: 100 x 36 mm
Perforation: Comb tool/Gauge 14×12 ¾
Size of Stamps: 25 x 36 mm (portrait)

Description

In the heart of Curacao one can find a unique work of art of almost mythological significance, the Cathedral of Thorns. The Cathedral is ten meters high, covers an area of four hundred square meters and is made of ninety million thorns. The creator Herman van Bergen, worked for eight years to complete this impressive building together with eighteen unemployed young people.

The emission Cathedral of Thorns is dedicated to a unique work of art situated in the heart of Curaçao and made by Herman van Bergen. The Cathedral symbolizes our wandering mind, seeking for an answer to the question “why are we born to die?”. The Cathedral stands for hope, creating, inspiring a young generation and for having a free spirit. The Cathedral is a story about the bright light in a dark labyrinth. The souvenir sheet contains four stamps each showing us a beautifully illuminated part of the Cathedral. In the clouds above the Cathedral a couple of lines of the poem “Indjan” from Hans Vaders are visible. “Indjan” is a tribute to the native people of Curaçao, the philosophy behind the Cathedral and an important source of inspiration for the artist.