Introduction and description of method
My work as a visual artist consists of making large format photographic works by means of self built camera obscuras.
In a barrack in the port of Deventer which has been converted to a camera obscura I make staged compositions. For photographing objects on location I use available structures (such as buildings, sheds or shipping containers) or I use a construction trailer converted to a camera, which I can move around with my tractor.
The method enables me to give the image scale/ monumentality and to define the skin of the photograph. I can sit inside the camera and contemplate the projected image before fixing it onto paper. By exposing at nighttime and in negative I force myself to redefine the scene. There is never a 1 to 1 registration of the subject.
Studio based works
The nature of objects (the thing in itself) is questioned by removing connotations to products, brands, scale and time. Pictorial qualities must give clues to the character of the object. The object becomes visible as a product of our interpretation.
Location based works
Instead of taking a camera on a journey out in the world to discover objects or people, I convert existing structures to a camera obscura. Thereby the viewpoint is already defined. What can I add to this?
By wandering around in the landscape I collect stories and knowledge about materials and history. By looking at the projected image of the object I design a painterly image. I then use the object as a model for a new photographic work. Not the photographed object but the photo as an object itself becomes the subject.
Further reading/ viewing
To see the works go to: Overview of selected works
For more info about my methods see: Camera Obscura #1/ #2/ #3/ #4
