In MASTERS GALLERY
The Amsterdam photographer Neeltje de Vries is 'hanging' in MASTERS Gallery this week. With her special images, Neeltje knows how to touch the viewer and creates a story where the thin line between emotion and strength is visible. Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: Neeltje de Vries
Fluid
I think 'Fluid' is an image that characterizes my work well. I look for friction in an image. Stunning aesthetics and something that makes it waver and twist. Green swims enhance the sense of mystery for me. Spherical without feeling heavy. You see these shades a lot in my work. Her skin and posture almost make her look like she's made of rubber as she leans over the armchair. That in contrast to the perpendicular straight lines in the background works very well for me. Images arise for me before I have shot them. In everyday life. Looking at everything that's happening around me. It may even be the case that when I cycle past the rubbish in Amsterdam on a rainy day, I see an object, or a piece of material of whatever, lying there and an image immediately arises in my head. How many times have I stopped and driven back in my car to load rubbish from the street into my car, because an image that passed by immediately caught my attention. Or lugging it on the back of my bicycle to my studio. This armchair, from the thrift store, is an example of this.
Lockdown
I like playing with framing. What that does to an image. But what if the framing is also literally woven into the image. I play with this more often in my work. It is a search for the thin line between discomfort, credibility and pleasure. I looked for what represents the correct accuracy. That it is palpable. This is reflected in both the narrowness of the walls I built in my studio for this sculpture, and in the woman's pose. Before I photograph a model, I always have to feel for myself what a space or pose feels like. That is also one of the reasons that I portray women in my free work. I have to feel what I want to translate into my image. I don't know what it's like to move like a man. It's about the little nuances. I want to see this reflected in my images. A loose hand, how hair slides down your face. You name it. You could say that most of the photos I shoot contain an element of self-portrait. That started when I was drawing girls non-stop as a 6-year-old. And it actually never stopped. Only the medium has changed over the years.
moist
I like it when images are one
film still could have been. That they are narrative. When I look at her now, to me she is a woman with a story. No longer that woman I stood in front of with my camera. Hands are always important in my work. You can translate so much emotion with how they move. The epic images that I shoot are generally the images that have been with me for the longest time. And also hanging on the wall in my home. Where is she? Who is she? What is happening? I have my own experience with that. I want to intrigue the viewer, but even more so myself. I can feel the water on her skin in this image. Her soaked hair. And it is precisely because of the cut that it raises even more questions. I like raw beauty in a woman. Unpolished. A portrait of an attractive woman that is only beautifully captured does not move me. Certainly, I think the women I shoot are all beautiful, but each of them has a raw edge. I find that much more interesting to work with than just the appearance.
Please
here take a look at the Neeltje de Vries website.
