SEGMENT VIII, 'FOREST', SEGMENT VII, 'DECONSTRUCTION'

These photographs were made in co-operation with M.Dijkman. In the beginning of 2002 she asked me to help her with the technical aspect of her forest photography. She had organised huge lamps and already had done some investigation in several forests in the Netherlands.

While working together on these photographs we began to like playing around in the forest at night. From static photographs we began to make real interventions within the landscape. We moved branches, dragged some trees, organised the leafs on the ground and sprayed water on the grass to highlight it.

We were examining the authenticity of the Dutch forest landscapes. The effect of illuminating pieces of forest, raised questions about the natural authenticity of these places. The artificial light created a sublime appearance of the trees, branches and leaves; because of this the landscape itself seemed to become more artificial. With the serie of photographs we wanted to expose the exaggerate interference of the Dutch forest management. With the same attitude that we had while working at the forest pictures we worked in more industrial, abandoned places and demolishing sites. Here we could work with the same sort of freedom as we experienced in the forest. The effect created by the gasfumelights raised questions about the quality of the space. The spatial effect of the lights changed our dealing with the space. The space changed from an unmanageable environment towards a manageable stage where all the objects were acting in a visible story. Because of the use of the powerfull lamps it was easier to manipulate and intervene in the space.