Artist: Esther van der Wallen

Fine art pigment print, mounted on dibond, with wooden frame, size 58x80cm, edition of 5 + 2 AP.

Esther van der Wallen: “As an extension of the search for and discovery of my true feelings, I started making free work. Initially a series of self-portraits. Through my photo series with female models, I want to emphasize that when you expose yourself, figuratively and sometimes literally, you may come more to yourself. Hereby I focus on the (naked) body of the woman I want to free from suppressed feelings. During the photo sessions with mostly female models, I often have frank conversations about sadness, shame and the (im) possibility of stepping over shyness and uncertainty. With this I build a relationship of trust. For example, I have discovered that many women carry a past that they would actually want to shake off in order to love themselves. In this time of social media, where the perfect exterior is central, I want to show the authenticity of the interior and the imperfect beauty of the body in all its forms and shapes. This goes way beyond the so-called #Me Too feeling. Elements such as sexual desire and desire do not play a role in this. That does not mean that the result cannot be erotic and/or sensual, but then that is a spontaneous consequence of the cooperation between the model and me, never the goal. I see this series of photos both as a conclusion and a new beginning. In addition to, among other things, this series, the urban environment runs through my life as a source of inspiration. In the 1990s I used this subject for my paintings. I captured the city with my camera and worked it out on a canvas to create a surreal image. Through a visit recently to a few Italian cities, the blood went where it could not go and I decided to capture the city but also nature from a special perspective”.

Photography for Esther van der Wallen is playing with light. She is inspired by photographers as Miroslav Tichý, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Gerard Fieret, but also artists like René Magritte, Man Ray, Salvador Dalí and Carel Willink.

Esther van der Wallen exhibited at Miljonair Fair (2012), Pulchri Studio Den Haag (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), De Kolk Spaarndam (2017), Victor Laurentius Gallery (2017), De Galerie Den Haag (2017). Groepstentoonstelling De Galerie, Den Haag (2018, 2019), Groepstentoonstelling Sandvoort Gallery, Amstelpassage, Amsterdam CS (1018), Solo expositie KV2, ANNA Vastgoed & Cultuur, Den Haag (2019), Art The Hague fair (2019).