Biography
The black and white analogue impressions of natural settings by Dutch artist Awoiska van der Molen (1972) have intrigued many. A wall of dark sea, a valley of old pine trees, the infinite foliage, they appeal to our inner, deepest intuition, capturing the raw essence or meaning of life. Her images reflect her personal experience of the primal psychological space. Though her works are made in dark tones, these shades and blacks radiate warmth and a comfortable feel of belonging. No matter how devastating the landscape. Slowness. Quietness. Being part of earth.
In her most recent series, ‘The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves’, van der Molen looks at Japanese windows as if they are compositions of matter; of light and darkness. As with her natural landscape photographs, each work in ‘The Humanness of our lonely selves’ has a certain monumentality and tranquility. These illuminated windows express both a longing for connection and a sense of existential loneliness. A familiar sense for all of us. The windows, which offer a glimpse of life without allowing full contact, are central to this dialogue between distance and proximity.
Carbon prints
As she silently traverses the darkness, Awoiska van der Molen captures the hushed world behind and around the windows. Her photographs demand slowness. Slowness during the creation of the image. Slowness in its materialisation. Slowness in viewing the results. The darkroom is where Van der Molen allows her images to slowly appear again. Acclaimed for her gelatin silver prints, she chooses a printing process for the illuminated windows that is new to her, the 19th century carbon print. Because the carbon print – a transfer technique – is so complex and labour intensive, it is hardly used anymore. Executed with the lamp black pigment (soot), it is one of the most durable printing techniques. The pigment and gelatin carry the image that lies in a thin layer on the paper, with the thickness of the layer determining the degree of darkness or light. The carbon print has an exceptionally long tonal range, allowing the diverse dark to light shades in the windows to be optimally realised.
PARIS PHOTO 2024 BOOTH A55
At Paris Photo FLAT // LAND is honoured to show the carbon prints from the series ‘The Humanness of our lonely selves’, together with some earlier works from Awoiska van der Molen’s oeuvre. Since the carbon prints are highly exclusive, printed as 3 editions only, van der Molen decided to handprint a silver gelatin edition of 7 of the works of ‘The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves’. These will be slightly larger than their carbon counter parts and will be framed differently.
Please visit us in Paris, Grand Palais, Booth A55 from Wed 6 November (vernissage) – Sunday 10 November, 2024.