Contemporary photographers often look to paintings from centuries past, reimagining their use of light, composition and symbolism for a modern audience. Think Jeff Wall’s A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) (1993), which translated the Japanese artist’s 1832 woodblock into a contemporary setting with office workers and flying sheets of paper. Then there’s Elina Brotherus’ 2004 reinterpretation of German painter Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818). Her version is a self-portrait, in which a woman – rather than a man – gazes contemplatively across a mountainous landscape.
Ellen Kooi (b. 1962) is also influenced by different periods of art history, from the light quality of 17th-century Dutch painting to the human-nature dynamics of 19th-century German Romanticism. Her meticulous body of work includes Borssele – Rode Jurk (2007), which evokes Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World (1948), complete with a rural house-on-the-hill and billowing blades of grass. Kooi deliberately casts female protagonists, offering a contemporary interpretation of the traditionally male-dominated “figure in the landscape” trope. In some instances, her models blend seamlessly into the landscape; at other times, their presence disrupts the scene – introducing a sense of tension or creating underlying unease.
Kooi’s latest exhibition, Finity, at Camara Oscura Galeria de Arte, Madrid, builds upon these artistic influences whilst confronting viewers with a pressing reality: nothing lasts forever. People will age, seasons will change, and, as it stands, the environment will be damaged beyond repair. Kooi’s photographs show the consequences of humankind’s current treatment of the planet, depicting landscapes altered by climate change. The piece Rode Lagune (2023) is set against a dried-up body of water, cracked and orange in colour, whilst Den Helder – Hoog Water (2023) shows a group of people trapped on a tiny island, surrounded by rising seas. They lean cautiously over the edge, their fear unmistakable.
Kooi’s latest works serve as both a tribute and a warning – celebrating the beauty of the Dutch landscape whilst reminding us that, unless we act, these places could vanish forever.
Finity is at Camara Oscura Galeria de Arte, Madrid, until 24 May.
Image Credits:
1. Ellen Kooi, Haarlem – onder de brug, (2024).
2. Ellen Kooi, Den Helder – hoog water, (2023).
3. Ellen Kooi, Apeldoorn – leemkuil, (2022).
4. Ellen Kooi, Rode Lagune, (2023).
