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IN SOME WAYS
Take his most recent book Oma Toos, an eponymous
study of his grandmother. Not only is she the subject
of the photographs, but her handwritten stories
CONNECTED
become the context for the sometimes absurd images.
The study has been ongoing since 2004, when
Scheeren’s parents moved out of their hometown of
Jaap Scheeren
45 years, and his father asked Oma to send the local
sportsnewspaper. “Oma Toos accompanied these
news-articles with a small note in which she gave
anecdotes about her life,” he explains. “The stories
are about the Moroccan cleaning lady who doesn’t
The work of Dutch photographer Jaap want to drink coffee with her during Ramadan, my
Scheeren is an eclectic combination of staged uncle who’s living with her again after his divorce, a
experiments, self-effacing self portraits, absurdist robbery where she was a witness, people who die, etc.
fashion shoots and conceptualized realism. And yet She describes these things with such humor and style
there is a very personal light shining through that that it becomes very much alive. I made the pictures
illuminates his subjects from a recognizable but according to the tone of the notes.”
twistedly compelling angle. From Scheeren’s book-
length study of his own grandmother to glamorizing Scheeren’s notion of getting involved in the picture
garbage to the photogenic depths of the black hole of has an even more literal reading when considering his
inebriation, his vision is as experimentally fearless as it extended series with Rotterdam counterpart Anouk
is insightfully personal. And though he is willing to Kruithof entitled “The Black Hole.” After an
list off a handful of contemporaries as influences interviewer from a Dutch newspaper prodded the
(albeit with the conditional preface “if you want I can pair about their purpose and goal as artists, warning
name some but it looks so stupid”), it seems even the them, “If you don’t find your way in life you fall into
source of his inspiration is extremely personal: “My this black hole,” they decided the subject would
friends make me the person I am. If you combine make for an appropriate first major work. “We
them you see me.” interviewed depressed people, astrologists (there’s a
black hole in the universe of course),” says Scheeren.
Consequently, this personal style has earned him back “We made pictures of literal black holes, pictures of
to back Hyeres awards (the first with Estelle Hanania people that had a black out after too many drinks
and the second for his most recent show and drugs and so on.”
“Commission of the City”) and numerous showings,
from his native Netherlands to Paris and as far away This last element produced some of his most
as Australia. When asked in our email arresting self portraits, his face covered in all manner
correspondence if his international shows help of magic marker hieroglyphs and prankish
to highlight any part of Dutch culture that he is modifications. “For the reality of the series I drank
revealing in his photographs he states simply, and smoked pot till I passed out and asked some
“I don’t make my pictures or do my projects to photographer friends to shoot pictures of me,” he
lease someone. I make them to enjoy myself and explains. “I gave my friends a carte blanche to do
to investigate what I like. I’m interested in many whatever they wanted with me. They threw eggs
different things and I use photography to take a on me, torn my pillow and feathered me, etc.”
closer look. That’s why my work goes in different
directions. This open view could be my Dutch This exercise has its roots in an earlier project where
approach.” Scheeren was photographed while tripping on various
herbal hallucinogens, like salvia divinorum and magic Self-Portrait of Jaap Scheeren
This interest in whatever he likes dates back to a mushrooms: “I painted the studio, put on my gym
collision between scholastic shortcomings and his suit (because I was doing it for the pictures which
high school hip-hop career. “When I was 16 and made it feel like sport), got in a desk chair (because it
failed miserably in Chemistry I had to take another was also work), took drugs and a friend of mine took
look at my interests,” he says. “At that time I was in the pictures.” When asked if he thought the pictures
a Dutch hip-hop group called The Tunnels and was accurately depict his state of mind at the time he says,
writing all the time and making small stupid “No, but you do see a bit of a difference in the
drawings during class. So my mother pointed out pictures. I mean, it’s logical, xtc makes you jump
to me that I might be more interested on an artistic [and] salvia threw me back in my chair for a few
level. I thought maybe she had a point so I started minutes when it kicked in.”
to participate in an art course where I was painting
and doing photography. Photography caught me in I wondered if there was any connection to his earlier
the directness and presence of reality in making an photographs of laboratory animals — if he had some
image. What you see is what you get.” kind of affinity with other test subjects. “There’s not
a clear relationship in the subjects,” he says.
Scheeren’s early photographic studies examined “Research animals don’t choose to test. We test them
“people and their behavior,” with his first conceptual for our sake. I never thought of the connection before
project involving portraits of divorced parents with actually. I think the relationship between the two
their new families to see the difference between the could be my own interest in destruction. People tend
people and the relationships with their children. to (ab)use themselves and others and live on a bit of
“These things took a lot of time and were always a chaos; it keeps us alive and alert maybe. It has
bit disappointing image-wise,” he explains, “so after something sad when we do it to animals that can’t
this project I started to search for a new way to talk defend themselves, but also a side of humor when
about subjects. I became more interested in how an we make fun of ourselves.” / Chris Bilton
image triggers someone to take a real close or second
look at it and get involved in it.”
27 / 96
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