74 14 December 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Final AnalysisZeldaCheatleis a well-knowncuratorandeditorof photography.Aftersomeyearstakingphotographs,shebegana gallerycareerat ThePhotographers’Galleryin Londonbeforesettingupandrunningher
own eponymous photography gallery from 1989 to 2005. For more information, visit her websitezeldacheatle.com.
ZeldaCheatleconsiders...‘#384-16, 2013’ by Awoiska van der MolenPhoto CritiqueT
hethemeforthis
year’sPrixPictet
was‘Hope’,which
broughta wide
rangeofphotographersand
a powerfulsetofpictures
togetherundertheoverriding
themeofsustainability.They
describehopeinthefaceof
andaftermathofwar,shocking
adversity,positiverecycling,
reforestationandrewilding.
Perhapsinscience,maybein
medicine– theremaybehope,
buttheinhumanityofmanand
thegargantuanenvironmental
problemsplacehopeonan
equalpeggingwithdespair.
Fromthelistof
photographers,eachofwhom
haveanextraordinarystoryto
tell,I havechosenAwoiskavan
derMolen.Perhapsbecause
herworkis thequietestofall
andrequiresa longer,slower
appreciation– almosta
contemplativestateofmindto
enterintoit.
‘Myaimhasalwaysbeen
totrytogetascloseas
possibletosometrue,unspoilt
coreofa place.Bypeelingoff
allthemanylayersoftoday’s
roaringworld,I slowly
eliminatealldistractionsin
ordertohear,seeand
experiencemysurroundings
withcleansenses,’Awoiska
saysaboutherwork.
Inherlandscapes,Awoiska
seekssilence,allowingthe
placetoabsorbherby
submittingtoit.Insodoing
shecreatesa connectionand
directencounterbetweenher
owncharacterandthatofthe
place.Whenshefeelsshehas
trulycometounderstandthe
landscapeshewillmakea
photograph.Thismaytake
weeksofexistingthere,
aloneandopentothe
interpretationofplace.
TheworkinthePrixPictet
exhibition will be from
Himmelsrund, whichliterally
translatesastheheavens’rim.
Thisexpressionwasusedinthe
MiddleAgestorefertothe
celestialfirmamentasa
vaulteddisc.Thismeetingof
thedivineandtheastronomic
resonateswithherprocess
andconstantquestasa
photographer.
Hersolitarysearchforthe
ultimateinlandscape
resemblesthepilgrimageof
thoseseekingwisdom.Awoiska
believesit is possibletoshare
that sense of hope, a convictionthattheremustbea higher
planeofexistencetowhich
humanityoncehadaccess,but
withwhichhasnowlost
substantivecontact.Awoiska
doesnotdiscloselocation,no
geographicalbearingtothese
pictures,buta strongsense
thatshehasofferedthemto
youtofindsolace,tolookfor
andfindsomecommunion
withnature,similartothat
whichshehasfoundherself.
FamiliarwiththeBecherand
theDüsseldorfschoolof
photography,Awoiskahas
soughtoutplaceswhereshe
canbe‘absorbed,devoured,
butalsoprotected’anddoes
notimposerigoursoftheoryon
herchosenlocations,nor
separateherselffromurban
areas as a protest. Herlandscapesareuniversal,they
arequietandthepeacehelps
hertoachievethatstate
whichcanbefeltsosensuously
inthephotographs.
Tobeverystillandlookat
thelarge-scaleprintsmadeby
AwoiskavanderMolenis a
lessoninslowingdownand
takingtimetoreallybe
involvedwiththelandscape,
andbydoingsofindthat
indeedthereis hope.
Theinnatebeautyand
depthofspirituality
transmittedis a special
andgentleexperience.© AWOISKA VAN DER MOLEN, PRIX PICTET‘Awoiskacreatesaconnectionbetweenherowncharacterand that of the place’Thisimagewasshortlistedforthis
year’sPrixPictetPrize.A touring
exhibitionofthefinalshortlistwillbe
touringtheglobefromDecember2019.
To find out more, head to prixpictet.com.