ART AMSTERDAM 2009 – The Solo Edition

In this ongoing series of large black-and-white pictures, Hans Op de Beeck (1969, Turnhout, BE) concentrates on the loss of self, moments in which a person in an interior slips into a state of mental absence. Every picture features only one protagonist, each of whom is presented in completely different surroundings. The interiors provide information about the presumed life and social background of the person portrayed, as well as about the specific moment and the stage of life that the individual has reached.

This series of images in photographic form is more closely related to the traditional art of painting than to photography, as each of the interiors has sprung from the artist's imagination. These are non-existent interiors designed entirely by computer with a realism that appears photographic in quality. The framing of the picture alludes to the classic paintings of artists including the Flemish Primitives, employing a central perspective, a 'naïve' construction with a single central vanishing point. This precise perspective reinforces the invitation to the viewer to enter mentally into the space.