Hailing from Rotterdam, lensman Paul Kooiker (1964) studied both at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam before establishing himself as one of today’s quirkiest fashion photographers. Kooiker may have fully engaged in fashion photography, but his work is always infused with a quirky, artful element that puts it in a category of its own. Also, his photography transcends classic gender roles: his models adopt unusual poses and their faces are often left out of frame, obscuring their identity. At times, it’s not even clear whether the subject is human or a doll. In order to capture the extravagance of luxury objects, Kooiker magnifies their means of presentation, and to such a degree that it’s ultimately our desire itself that is captured by his camera.
Opening on Fri – Dec 9 at Foam, arguably the Dutch capital’s premier photography venue, is an exhibition that may be boldly entitled FASHION, but it obviously sees the topic interpreted in Kooiker’s very own way. On display are a series of Kooiker’s recent work, and interestingly, they’ve all been shot with an iPhone. At a time when everyone photographs with their smartphone, the Dutch lensman uses this very tool to create a parallel world that’s apparently detached from it and that cannot be copied. The large variety of images from his fashion commissions create an encompassing installation that works much like a hall of mirrors: it somehow freezes the dizzying speed of the fashion industry, and in a way reveals the absurdity of vanity and desire a large part of the fashion world and its following thrive on.
Foam
Keizersgracht 609 (Centrum)
1016DS Amsterdam
Telephone: +31 20 5516500
Mon-Wed 10am-6pm
Fri-Sat 10am-9pm
Sat-Sun 10am-6pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
