Project Asberry II

We find ourselves in the international airport of Havana. A giant airship is parked on a dike, a gently sloping incline – an emissary from the land of the imagination. A large red star and the text: Lenin-Aeroflot-SSSR suggest its origins. The engines at the front and back emit billowing, white clouds of steam. There is no other trace of human activity or presence. No travellers, baggage loaders, traffic attendants or security guards. In the background, in the blue distance, we see a second air giant under construction. In the background to the right is an equally colossal glass hanger, consisting of at least seven arched halls. Large signs printed with red text surround the landing strip. At the front edge of the image we catch a glimpse of the underground metro tube, where the trains decorated with hammer and sickle stand ready for departure. And right at the top is a teeming swarm of blue aircraft. A LIFE-logo and lines of text across the image suggest that Van Genk intended to mimic the cover of the famous illustrated magazine. On the bottom edge is a link to Dutch current affairs: ‘The Amsterdam-Schipol City Railway Line’.