Wiepke Folkerts

Photography starts with looking and observing reality, my photos are not an exact representation of it, it is my interpretation, my perspective. My feeling and experience determine the moment that I capture, the way in which and which part of reality.

There is restlessness and change, nothing is perfect or permanent, but by standing still I experience space and infinity, peace and quiet. I see beauty in powerful forms of installations and constructions and want to make them visible. The subjects and elements are different, but my need is the same, the aesthetic beauty of what I experience, feel and see, reveal and convert it into images and thus visible to the person who does not look, but sees and is thus enriched with a new world of experience.

Observation creates an image in my head and my photo is the basis for its development. That takes time, incubation time, the image has to be brought to fruition. Sometimes that goes quickly, sometimes it takes months, sometimes years. The image must develop and grow in order to be ready, to see the light of day, to share with the world.

To distil aesthetic beauty from reality, I look at the visual cues that the photo gives me, clues that determine which direction to take, determin...

Photography requires technical skills, but to distinguish myself I started working on my own style. I did this under the guidance of professional photographer and filmmaker Ruben Smit, maker of the films De Nieuwe Wildernis (2013) and Wadfilm (2018).

In addition, I initiated a further deepening of my work by following workshops, including with Michael Levin, the winner of the Fine Art Photographer of the Year at the PX3 Prix de la Photographie Awards in Paris (in 2007 & 2009).