The Matter of Fact

The Netherlands, 2021.

The Matter of Fact is a visual meditation on relationships as an essential human need and a core theme that shapes them — how we deal with conflict.

Our unique life experience shapes our perception of the world, making the supposedly rational rarely free of interpretation and personal feelings. Yet we are — also in public discourse — quick to judge based on facts, ignoring the emotional layer.

How we deal with diverse perspectives is not only key to our everyday experience, but also determines how society is able to master challenges like climate change, which ask for collective action. Conflict management is not a gift, it is a skill that can be learned.

In The Matter of Fact I use the essential affordance of photography to capture a moment otherwise lost. Introducing a simple glass pane, for an instant, ephemeral sculptures of wind, water, sand and light emerge from interaction with the sea, to be recorded with the camera.

While the hard facts might stand crystal clear before us, our emotions, often not easy to grasp for others and ourselves, undeniably shape all human encounters.

Prints available on request.