In the series Gesellschaftsspiel I situate myself and other people into ambiguous situations. The characters pose at historical locations, or places that suggest an underlying cultural and historical influence. Important in this series is how subconscious attitude or behavior can create absurd situations. This behavior often originates in culture or history.
Gesellschaftsspiel
Oorlog
2007, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
Oorlog is dutch and means war. In cities are places without function and by taking them out of context and giving them a new meaning I made this theatre of war.
Untitled
2004, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
Stütze
2006, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white instant film combined with a negative (Polaroid 665).
Stütze is a German word. It has different meanings. It can mean to support someone, but it is also a slang word for welfare.
Oorlogsmonument
2005, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
A World War II monument which is placed into the Volkspark Enschede in the Netherlands. It was placed there in 1953 and shows different population groups that where involved into the war.
Nord Ostsee Kanal
2004, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
A canal and some narrow streets with small houses. In the middle of all that a sand-hill.
Interview
2008, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
Untitled
2008, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
Leutnant M.P.L.
2007, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
Leutnant M.P.L.
2007, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph, detail.
Neuengamme
2008, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
I place myself on the grounds of a former concentration camp and take a picture. The photograph itself is unspectacular. By using this title, I apply a certain importance to it that it doesn’t have visually. I could of course also go into my garden, take a picture and call it ‚Neuengamme‘. The line between truth and lie is very thin indeed. Places received a historical importance, other deserve it but haven’t been considered important. Maybe it is because they were forgotten, or were declared unimportant by an institution. We record truth, but never objectively. There is no such a thing as real truth. It’s a game of borders between lie and truth.
Fussball
2005, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
Eichel
2005, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
The winter month of November 2005 left traces in the Netherlands afterward. It was a snowy winter in the Netherlands. The photo is made at the Floraparkstraat in Enschede.I found birch trees along these street that have not been recovered yet.
Du hast da was!
2004, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
Translated it means: You got something there! The photo is made at a studio in Kiel, North Germany. A nice studio complex with big halls that remind me of waiting rooms. I wasn’t aware of a fly sitting under my nose.
Bunker Wassermann
2005, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
The photo is taken standing on a bunker on the dutch island Schiermonnikoog. It was built for defense in WWII but sabotage never finished the project.
Blond from Birth
2007, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white instant film combined with a negative (Polaroid 665).
Rescue the blonds! It is been proven that the natural blonds are dying out. Blond people (and I am talking about natural blonds) are special, but in our society they are discriminated. So I would like to call everybody’s attention to this subject. Check out blondfrombirth.org they opened my eyes! Quote: „The purpose of Blond From Birth is to spread awareness of blond haired people and increase their rights in today’s society. We have goals of promoting awareness and of ending the racist stereotypes of blonds that the Media propagates with the assistance of hair dye companies.“
B.H.
2007, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white instant film combined with a negative (Polaroid 665).
Aufstand
2004, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, black and white photograph.
Richtige Richtung
2006, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
Richtige Richtung translated: right direction.
Schwarze Karte
2004, from the photo series Gesellschaftsspiel, color photograph.
Schwarze Karte is translated: black card.