30 FT.COM/MAGAZINE MARCH7/82020
‘I THINKIT’SALWAYSBETTER
NOTTOSHOWTOO MUCH;
YOUHAVESPACE FORYOUR
OWNINTERPRETATION’‘Chen and Efrat, Israel, May212005’‘Chen andEfrat,Israel,November 181999’‘Sophie and Alice,Savolinna,Finlan d, August32013’‘Arden and Miran,London,February162020’FT.COM/MAGAZINE MARCH7/82 020 31theories. Ondisplaywillbesomeoftheseriesthatha ve become
hersignature:thosethreesisters,capturedinAmsterdam
between2008-14,andapairofidenticaltwinsfromIsrael,
depictedoverthecourseoftheiradolescence.Stand-alone
image soff amily groupsareheretoo.Aso ftenwithDijkstr a’s
work,teenspredominate:thoughtheseare stills,byandlarge,
theeffectisof peoplechangingalmostbeforeoureyes.“Ilike
thisdynamicfeeling,thatthingsaren’t fixedyet,”shereflects
onphotographingyoungpeople.“Everythingisstillpossible.”
BorninthesouthernNetherlandsandtrainedata rtschool
inAmsterdam,Dijkstrabeganphotographingprofessionally
inthe1980s,shootingpeopleinc lubsformagazinesanddoing
corporatejobs.Butshechafedatt heformulasofcommissioned
work;shewantedtocreateimagesofpeoplethatwentmore
thanskin-deep.Recoveringfromabikeaccidentin1990,she
begantotake portraitsofherselfemergingfromaswimming
pool.Aseriesonchildrenandteenagersonthebeach,byturns
unguardedandpr ovocative,follo wed.Itle dtoo therprojects
onna kedmotherswiththeirnewborns, aswellasonbloodied
bullfightersemergingfromthering.Eachseriesisshotina
simila rformatandusingtheminimumofprops.“Ithinkit’s
alwa ysbetternottoshowtoomuch;youhavespaceforyour
owninterpretation,”saysDijkstra.
Evennow,sheusesthesametools:alarge-format,4inby
5inanaloguecameraandcolou rfilm.Fromatechnica lpoint
ofview, she’s proudlyold-fashioned,shelaughs .“Thecamera
workssl owly,sop eopleunderstandthatitisgoingtotake a
while.Exposurescantakeacoupleofhours, everyexposurea
coupleofminutes.Itd emandssomeconcentration,butatthe
sametimeitcreatesanintensitythatinvolvesthesitters.”
Thoughshe’s sometimescomparedtoDianeArbus,that
masteroft heconfrontationalportrait,Dijkstraherselffeelsan
affinitywiththegreatGermanphotographerAugustSander
(1876-1964),whomadeithislife’s worktocapturehisfell ow
citizens,fromboxersandcircusperformerstopoliticians.▶‘Emma,Lucy,Cécile2011-12’, from the series‘Three Sisters’ 2008-14TheupstairsbackroomatMarianGoodmanGalleryin
centralLondonisacrowdoffac es.Inacorner,restingon
foam bolsters,there’salargephotographoftwoyoung women
inaforest.Oneisstanding,theothersittingontheground.
Bothwearbikinis:theylookalittlecombative,asifd aringus
whattothink.Ontheopposit ewall,anothersixphotographsof
womenarelinedup. Withtheiridentikitwhitebackgrounds,
theyresemblemugshotsorpassportphotos. Ittak esyoua
momenttonoticetheresemblance,eyesespecially:three
sisters,photographedatd ifferentages. Similarbutdifferent.
Variationsonatheme.
Fewcontemporaryartistshave focusedsoo bsessively on
thehumanformastheDutchphotographerRinekeDijkstra.
For35-oddyears,sheha sphotographedlittl eelse.Often
the peoplesh ecapturesstandfull-lengthintheplacesshe
enco unteredthem ,onthebeachorinparks. Printe dlarge,near
life-size,theseimagesbo thofferandwithholdinformation;all
we’reusuall ygivenis afirstnameoraplaceanddate.Youfind
yourselfconjuringstorie s–thisschoolboy lookslikehe’dbe
cooltohangoutwith,thatteenagegirlseemswisebeyondher
years.Thosetwoboysperche dtogetheronasinglechairina
baywindow–anewphotograph–lookcuriouslyold-fashioned,
withtheiridenticalposesandsoberexpressions, asifthey
inhabitapreviouscentury.Likeallgreatportraiture,these
picturesinviteusintotheframe.
Dijkstra,60,isn’t sure, evenasshepreparestoopenanew
exhibition,whatdrawshertothesepeople.Themostshecan
say–hesitantly,almostshyly–ist hatsomehowtheycapture
herattention.She’llbeonth estreetorinthepark,andshe’ll be
caugh tbya noutfit,ort hewaysomeonehasstyledthei rhair.
“It’sdifficulttoexplain–there hastobesomethingthatmakes
youlookabitlonger,” shesa ys.Shescansthef acessurrounding
herandshrugs.“Ijustha ve tolik elookingatthem,inaway.”
Theexhibition,herfirstint heUKsince2010, provides
visitorswithplentyofopportunitytoc omeupwiththeir own