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By believing passionately in
something that still doesn't exist, we create it. The non-existent is
whatever we haven’t sufficiently desired. Franz Kafka
Curriculum
Exhibitions [solo] 2011-2012 University of Amsterdam (Spinhuis), series of Bucharest; Dec 2010 Taranului museum Bucharest, Africa and Bucharest; Sept 2008 de
Aanschouw Rotterdam, Ramatou; Nov-Dec 2007 de Kijvelanden psychiatric hospital Rotterdam, portraits; March 2004 Goethe-Zentrum (German Cultural Center) Iasi, Romania, portraits and nudes; June 1997 Desmet theatre Amsterdam, portraits
[group] Jan 2009 2x2 projects Amsterdam, conceptual project by Laurence Aegerter; July 2007 Zalet Festival Zaječar, Serbia (see on the left); Feb 2002
Donkersloot Amsterdam, bodypaints by Espen
Greger Hagen; 2001 Fotofestival Naarden, PANL selection; June 1998
Rietveld academie
Amsterdam, interior design by Jelena Stefanovic; June 1996
Rietveld, fashion by Klaus George
Prizes PX3 2011; PANL (10) 2001
Gallery
May 2008 - May 2009 de KunstSuper Rotterdam, 8 portraits.
Editorial for the Times of Swaziland, Photo, Strictly, Focus, de
Volkskrant, several books, a cd-cover,
and multiple other magazines and assignments
Background
In a mirror reflection-self-portrait by Eva Besnyö, a photographer whom I admired, I noticed she had a Rolleiflex camera (that produces square negatives). I bought my first one in 1994, but rather than pursuing an
academic training, I learned mostly by trial and error,
from books, and from my grandfather Paul Citroen. He became famous for his innovative
photography from the nineteen-thirties, after his studies at the Bauhaus. There, Johannes Itten taught that works of art should be a balanced unity of
composition, expression, and
technique. Citroen applied this threefold principle to his work,
and I apply it to mine.
Along with my grandfather and Eva Besnyö (who was a friend of my grandfather, and commented my first portfolio), I found
inspiration in the works of Emmy Andriesse, Irving Penn, Bill
Brandt, and the early Jean
Loup Sieff. Many other great photographers, e.g., Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keita, I
discovered only later, after I had developed my own style. I
readily specialized in black and white, which I print in limited
editions on high quality baryte paper.
Through the work of Arnold Newman and Richard Avedon, I became attracted to the quality made
possible with large format camera's.
Since 2000, I work mostly on 13x18cm negatives, and when traveling on 10x12cm, the smallest format I use.
The cumbersome handling of big cameras forces me to work slower and more concentrated than with small cameras, while the large negatives feature incredible sharpness and tonality (that can't be reproduced on the internet). The results are somewhat mysterious - reality slowed down unrealistically - which not only show us in detail what's in front of us but also suggest what we long for or have forgotten. About the (mostly old) lenses that I use I've written an extensive test.
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