ELLEN KOOI  

hold still - keep moving IV
kooi, fellini of the polder

Catalogue

April 23 - June 18, 2005

Dossier de presse

Ellen Kooi “ hold still - keep moving IV”* 26 avril – 18 juin 2005

Dutch artist Ellen Kooi, born 1962, finds her inspiration in the Dutch landscape, which is basically unstable due to its maritime configuration. Constantly moving, its vistas are like theatre scenes between sky and earth. The conscious appears superimposed to the unconscious in a perpetual movement where the psychological makeup of our society is reflected in these vistas, with the horizon as its the sole anchor point. Through numerical manipulation, the artist manages an almost surrealistic palette which disturbs the otherwise almost perfect landscape.

Having debuted as a photographer in the theatre, the artist utilizes her subject models like a stage director his actors. Thus in Amersfortbenen, 1998 we see children’s legs caught like roots in the soil as if naturally immobilized. We find the same static effect in Abberkerkle, 2005 where the braids of two adolescents are frozenly intertwined. Heemsteede-Heuvel, 2003 shows a youngster falling back in slow motion and self-abandonment before menacing thunder bolts, foresaking resistance to major forces of nature. Alphen-waterkant, 2002-2003, Amersfort-visvrouwen, 1998 and Houtwielen-ballonnen, 1997 constitute an ensemble of 23 photographies on plexiglas, where a static choreography transcends the human body.

At times tinted with humor or burlesque, Ellen Kooi’s pictures force our admiration on account of their dramatic and otherworldly esthetics. The mist in her works reminds us of 18th century Dutch paintings. However, the articulated rhythm of the characters compells us back to our times.

*The show’s title: “hold still – keep moving” refers to a Robert Frank photography.

Acquired by public collections: C.B.K. Groningen (Centre d’Art Contemporain). City Collection Amersfoort. FNV foundation. Gasunie (Dutch Gas company), Groningen. Beanet (part of Interpay The Netherlands). Artoteek Schiedam (Artfoundation). Collection Océ van der Grinten. City collection Haarlem. Collection Rabobank The Netherlands. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands. Fries Museum, Leuwarden. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem. Zaans Museum, Zaanstadt.

A catalog, with texts by Jhim Lamoree, was edited.