bouquets of the human shadows
About
Sjoerd Martens (b. 1993, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) lives and works in Amsterdam. "We are constantly leaving traces of our existence behind in our surroundings but we also have the urge to erase them as quickly as possible. They normally do not capture our attention, either because of their everydayness or perceived ugliness. The hidden beauty and purity of the human traces are what I want to immortalize so that they can be experienced differently and infinitely. Consequently, the subjects are no longer taken for granted. It is thus reminiscent of archeology, but with a different purpose and an unconventional mean.
I see my work as a sculpture of our legacy. The areas I create are characterized by past human presence, current abandonedness and future uncertainty. The human traces as still life are brought to a new breathing environment through multidisciplinarity and atypical narrative techniques. The manipulated mise-en-scène forms a post-apocalyptic, semi-surreal microcosm that includes physical and non-physical signs of our mortality. This haven is solely palpable and is comparable to past childhood dreams, or dissociation from one’s environment or self."
Exhibitions
2024 - Stevenson "Can't We All Just Get Along?", Amsterdam, NL
2023 / 2024 - Rijksmuseum van Oudheden "Rotsschilderingen van Aruba", Leiden, NL
2023 - Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography "Book Launch", Amsterdam, NL
2023 - Frankfurt Art Book Fair: Idea Books, Frankfurt, DE
2023 - Unseen Book Market: Idea Books, Amsterdam, NL
2023 - Arti et Amicitiae “Life Potential”, Amsterdam, NL
2023 - Parallel “Ancient Flux”, Amsterdam, NL
2022 / 2023 - National Archaeological Museum Aruba
"Mi Bisiña Tin Petroglifo Den Su Cura", AW
2022 – CaixaForum Barcelona “Dnit” Barcelona, ES
2022 - Van Gogh Museum "From This Point the Zone Is Germinating" Amsterdam, NL
2022 - The White "The Last Train Approaches -
My Dearest Memories Without Being Alone" Tokyo, JP
2022 - Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ “Dekmantel Festival” Amsterdam, NL
2022 - Ankali "Deviant" Prague, CZ
2022 - Academiegalerie "Souvenir" Utrecht, NL
2022 - Deutsches Museum "Placeness Produced" München, DE
2022 - Le Guess Who? "Placeness Produced" Utrecht, NL
2022 - Art Rotterdam "Prospects" Rotterdam, NL
2022 - Moving Arts Centre Amsterdam "FIBER Festival: Mutation", Amsterdam, NL
2022 - Bit "Roffa Mon Amour: Re:vive" Rotterdam, NL
2022 - Sunnei Radio "Live visuals (Part II) " Milano, IT
2022 - Toulouse Lautrec "Fervor Festival" London, UK
2022 - Huis Marseille “The Beauty Of The World So Heavy” (audiotour), Amsterdam, NL
2022 - Sunnei Radio "Live visuals" Milano, IT
2021 - Fiber Festival - Tolhuistuin “Birds Sing Like The Horn Of A Truck” Amsterdam, NL
2021 - La Biennale di Venezia "Birds Sing Like The Horn Of A Truck" Venice, IT
2021 - Academy Award Oscar® Qualifying -
Tehran International Short Film Festival, Tehran, IR
2021 - International Dance Film Festival, Athens Video Dance Project
"The Planetarium" Athens, GR
2021 - Black Discourse "The Body Is My First Mother" Los Angeles, US
2021 - Huis Marseille "Infinite Identities.
Photography in the Age of Sharing" (IG story), Amsterdam, NL
2021 - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante “Invitation” Alicante, ES
2021 - Dyad "Intermezzo", Amsterdam, NL
2021 - Figurative Vertigo "Earthskin" The World Food Forum 2021, Rome, IT
2021 - Duotoon, Lynk & Co “Birds Sing Like The Horn Of A Truck” Amsterdam, NL
2021 - Inex Film “Live Soundtrack”, Belgrade, RS
2020 - Dekmantel Connects "Re:vive Scores III", Amsterdam, NL
2020 - Post Territory Ujeongguk "Playgrounds" Seoul, KR
2020 - Saigon Experimental Film "Invitation" Ho Chi Minh City, VN
2020 - Cinéma Galeries' Exhibition Hall “Brussels Independent FF”, Brussels, BE
2020 - Playroom “An Art Opening in the Corona Era” Zaandam, NL
2020 - Obskuur Film Festival / Alfred Sküll Gallery “Invitation” Ghent, BE
2020 - DDDD Collections "Playgrounds" Berlin, DE
2020 - Museo Nacional de Antropología "Earthskin" Madrid, ES
2020 - Duotoon, Lynk & Co “Birds Sing Like The Horn Of A Truck” Amsterdam, NL
2020 - Motel Spatie "Special Edition: Self-publish or be Damned" Arnhem, NL
2020 - IOPPS - El Patio del Arte "The Treachery of Images" San Juan, AR
2019 - TivoliVredenburg "Canvas", Utrecht, NL
2019 - Academiegalerie "Self-publish or be Damned" Utrecht, NL
2019 - De School "Tijdgenoten Patty Morgan" Amsterdam, NL
2019 - Kriterion "IDFA Exhibition", Amsterdam, NL
2019 - Lab111 “Invitation as short before David Lynch: The Art Life” Amsterdam, NL
2019 - Resonance Extra Nachtgärtnern II “Frequenzen & Düfte” Berlin, DE
2019 – Exgirlfriend “From the Portfolio of Freewill: collab with Nural Moser” Berlin, DE
2019 - National Radio Österreich 1 “Frequenzen & Düfte” Vienna, AT
2019 - Lucernaire “Invitation” Paris, FR
2019 - Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision "iPhone Film Festival", Hilversum, NL
2019 - Manifesto Film Festival "Invitation" Amsterdam, NL
2019 - Czong Institute for Contemporary Art “Invitation” Seoul, KR
2019 - The Roxy Theater “Invitation” Missoula, US
2019 - Lake Worth Playhouse “Invitation” Florida, US
2019 - The Final Goodbye of Babymorocco: collaboration with Clayton Pettet, London, UK
2019 - Centro de las artes “Esto es para esto” Monterrey, MX
2019 - Garage Noord "Waves come to catch us" Amsterdam, NL
2019 - Mono “Floating Installation" Rotterdam, NL
2019 - Studio/K “Waves come to catch us” Amsterdam, NL
2018 - Museumnacht “Floating Installation” Amsterdam, NL
2018 - De Nijverheid “Utrecht Digital” Utrecht, NL
2018 - Hotel Elephant “MicroActs“ London, UK
2018 - Melkweg “Arty Party“ Amsterdam, NL
2018 - Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design “Graduation Festival“ Maastricht, NL
2018 - HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
“I am sure this is a Graduation Show” Utrecht, NL
2018 - Patty Morgan ”Zomerwinkel” Amsterdam, NL
2017 - Les Rencontres de la photographie Arles “Internetcafe Patty Morgan” Arles, FR
2017 - Photography Museum FOAM “Internetcafe Patty Morgan” Amsterdam, NL
2017 - Marina Abramović Institute + T “Photographic archaeological research of April”, US
Book
Available online and in stores
Architectura & Natura (Amsterdam)
Athenaeum Boekhandel Zuidoost (Amsterdam)
Athenaeum Spui (Amsterdam)
Boekhandel Dominicanen (Maastricht)
Boekhandel Hijman Ongerijmd (Arnhem)
Boekhandel Roelants (Nijmegen)
Calo Bookshop (Osaka)
De Utrechtse Boekenbar (Utrecht)
DeWit & VanDorp (Oranjestad)
Erasmus Bookstore (Amsterdam)
IdeaBooks (Amsterdam)
Leica Store SF Books (San Francisco)
Boekhandel Noord (Aruba)
Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix
Main Gate, Gate 6 VS (Aruba)
Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam)
Foam (Amsterdam)
Het Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam)
Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography (Amsterdam)
Museum Arnhem (Arnhem)
Nationaal Archief (The Hague)
National Archaeological Museum Aruba (Oranjestad)
Nederlands Fotomuseum (Rotterdam)
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Leiden)
Boekhandel San Nicolaas (Aruba)
San Serriffe (Amsterdam)
Scheltema (Amsterdam)
Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam)
Vide Books (Rotterdam)
Boekhandel Dakota (Oranjestad)
International distribution by Idea Books and international library supplier Erasmus Bookstore not mentioned
question?
hello [at] sjoerdmartens.nl