"Zwart-Wit Grafisch Nederland 2009 (2009 Yearbook of the Dutch Graphic Industry) is published shortly after the exciting presidential elections in the United States - and at a time when political and economic power can no longer be taken for granted and there are calls on all sides for strong men (and women). These conditions are the ideal breeding ground for icons-to-be, with Barack Obama as the current exponent. He is one of the heavyweights in this publication, in which good and bad leadership - sometimes it is hard to tell the difference even after the event - seem to elide.
Photographs of leaders have been converted into graphic images to illustrate this ambiguity. It was a complicated technical and creative process that took a great deal of preparation, but ultimately produced some amazing results. The yearbook looks like a never-ending story; it has no beginning, it comes to no conclusion. The underlying theme is the illusion of power. But it could equally be the power of illusion. Whatever it is, the concept conceived and executed by Thonik through trial and error is not a complete historical analysis of leadership. Some of the personalities who have been included may raise questions - and eyebrows - while others had perforce to be omitted.
There are 59 men and (only) six women among the 65 graphically interwoven leaders." (Taken from the introduction)