Inspiration

Den Boer finds her inspiration in all kinds of places. On the one hand, she is fascinated by places that people create, personal places such as the place where people live. On the other hand, however, she is intrigued by places that are wide and elusive, where man becomes insignificant. In this landscape, she feels connected to the space around her. While photographing this silent landscape, she also finds the silence within herself. Den Boer tries to convey this stillness to the viewer, through her photos. In the silence one can reconnect with one’s own core, it calms and enlightens, although the silence can sometimes be frightening.

To pick up a stone

The To Pick Up a Stone project arose from the urge Den Boer felt to take a piece of the landscape and to carry it with her. Later, Den Boer started to photograph the silent presence of mountains while traveling. Slowly, the idea of ​​photographing “the mountain in the stone” arose. By playing with factors such as scale, lighting, and position, questions arise about the perception of the mountains and stones depicted in her work. The photographer invites her audience to look at the images twice, as, through the process, mountain and stone can visually become one.
In photographic studies, Den Boer examines the experience of scale, perspective, and spatiality through an eclectic variety of images of mountains, rocks, and stones. Time, light, and distance determine the experience of something as massive as a mountain, but can the expression of a mountain also be discovered in a close-up, or even in a single stone? The diversity of her images show how changeable our view of a seemingly static object can be. In the eyes of Claudia den Boer, the same stone or the same mountain can look different every time you look at it due to different circumstances. This matter raises questions about human perception. With the exhibition To pick up a stone, the photographer tries to slow down the viewers by challenging them to make a connection with something very ancient. The exhibition contains photographs, videos, and an installation.

Claudia den Boer

Claudia den Boer (b. 1979) is a Tilburg-based photographer. In 2008 she obtained a degree in photography from AKV | St. Joost. Den Boer has done multiple multidisciplinary collaborations with architects, dancers, and choreographers, amongst others. Her work is shown internationally, and she participated in various international artist residencies. Den Boer was commissioned by Tilburg city council to create a 108-meter-long work of art in the public space.

On the occasion of her exhibition and to reflect her recent works, the photo essay To pick up a stone, printed at Eriska Connection in Breda, will be launched.

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