Artist: HJIMvanGasteren

Hahnemühle Rag print, size 21x15cm,  framed with glass and metal frame, edition of 50.

Skinny Dipping

In the bath tub, I enter a world of time travel. I’ve long been fascinated by this phenomenon, which is often a source of inspiration for science fiction stories.

Now I have landed at the age in which I could either move forward of backward through time.

Despite how fascinating time travel is, I chose instead to travel through time in the relative safety of my own bath tub, where I can travel back to the uterus, where I feel very safe. I the bath tub, I can be myself with all my own feelings – my fears, my sorrows, my joy, my lust…

In  the warm bath water, my skin wrinkles and makes me look quite old. But newborn babies also come into the world wrinkled. My cheeks flush from the warm water like a healthy young maiden. In the bath, I become ac woman of all ages….

Award winning multimedia artist HJIMvanGasteren (Henriëtte Johanna Ignatia Maria van Gasteren), formerly known as Lilith, was born in 1964 in Sevenum, the Netherlands.  She has been widely exhibited, throughout Europe and the U.S.
She uses self-portraits to provide a commentary on the image of women today.  Recurring themes in her work include identity, gender roles, freedom, equality, religion and the positive and negative aspects of human experience.  Her work is sometimes humorous, often sensual, frequently confrontational, and always original and insightful.
Her work belongs to international museumcollections and is frequently collected by contemporary art collectors.
Henriëtte currently resides and works in the Netherlands.

Artist statement                                                                                                                                                            

The Dutch art-photographer Henriëtte van Gasteren interprets the current image of women in a humorous, ironic and, at times, painfully realistic manner in her varied images. Her images are generated with the help of remote-control and self-timer, and they are shot in and around her house-cumstudio, as a guest in others’ homes or in what appear to be bland, interchangeable hotel rooms. Her images are characterised by one common thread—that of humanity uprooted. In these portraits, Henriëtte serves as her own model. She dresses differently and strikes different poses in each image. Her images portray a sample of female stereotypes in a sensitive and sophisticated manner. Color and light are critical to Henriëtte’s self-portraits. In addition, as a metteur-en-scène, she devotes special attention to clothing, make-up and props.

A house shows who we are and over 5 years Henriëtte shared her home and garden with her audience. Every corner of the room appears in her extraordinary photography.

Collections                                                                                                                                                                 

Works of Henriëtte van Gasteren are included in the collections of Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam; Museum AktFotoArt, Dresden; Museum Bommel van Dam, Venlo; Limburgs Museum, Venlo; Museum Ikob, Eupen (Belgium); Torch Gallery, Amsterdam; ASN Nederland, Amsterdam; Museum W, Weert; Eduard Planting Gallery, Naarden; Coda Museum, Apeldoorn; Galerie Mi, Bilthoven, Galerie vorn und oben, Eupen (Belgium); Zuyderland Ziekenhuis, Heerlen.