BLURRING THE LINES
BLURRING THE LINES

Naomi van Kleef

A Woman Vanishing’s Point

EDITION

2023, Shortlisted

school

Willem de Kooning Academy, The Netherlands

links

naomivankleef.com
@naomikleeft

The project: a woman’s vanishing point, revolves around a graduation project that explores the representation and significance of women's voices. It encompasses various elements, including a film, an installation, a thesis and a poetry book. The film interweaves two personal stories: one of a recently deceased woman and my personal reflection on her passing. Her name was Henriëtte Vics-Teensma, whom I lived with and was documenting for 5 years. In the midst of working on my graduation project with her - she passed away. I reflect on the profound silence that followed the artist's passing, exploring the absence of her voice and searching for traces of her presence within the artist's home. I do this through film, rather than still images, as I can invite the viewer to experience the absence with me - within the temporality of the film. The soundtrack is made up of a multiplicity of voices - only women, whom I recorded when experimenting with voice and the telling of stories. Throughout the whole film, you can only hear Henriëtte’s voice - but not see her. Exploring the artist's disappearance, I capture the lingering essence of her existence through remaining fragments and unfinished hems. Specifically, through highlighting her last unfinished work, which has never been exhibited before. This work is a reflection on her lived experiences during the colonization of the Dutch East Indies, including her internment in a concentration camp. I invite the viewer to look at the work in relation to the film. As a final note: the backbone of my project into researching female voices is a thesis examining community theater as a platform for underrepresented voices, emphasizing the role of listening in acknowledging and valuing diverse voices within democratic contexts. I have done this research simultaneously as my graduation project, graduating from a double bachelor: both in photography as well as in cultural analysis at the Erasmus University. While it does not literally translate into the project - it has influenced it tremendously.

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Naomi van Kleef

A Woman Vanishing’s Point

EDITION

2023, Shortlisted

school

Willem de Kooning Academy, The Netherlands

links

naomivankleef.com
@naomikleeft

The project: a woman’s vanishing point, revolves around a graduation project that explores the representation and significance of women's voices. It encompasses various elements, including a film, an installation, a thesis and a poetry book. The film interweaves two personal stories: one of a recently deceased woman and my personal reflection on her passing. Her name was Henriëtte Vics-Teensma, whom I lived with and was documenting for 5 years. In the midst of working on my graduation project with her - she passed away. I reflect on the profound silence that followed the artist's passing, exploring the absence of her voice and searching for traces of her presence within the artist's home. I do this through film, rather than still images, as I can invite the viewer to experience the absence with me - within the temporality of the film. The soundtrack is made up of a multiplicity of voices - only women, whom I recorded when experimenting with voice and the telling of stories. Throughout the whole film, you can only hear Henriëtte’s voice - but not see her. Exploring the artist's disappearance, I capture the lingering essence of her existence through remaining fragments and unfinished hems. Specifically, through highlighting her last unfinished work, which has never been exhibited before. This work is a reflection on her lived experiences during the colonization of the Dutch East Indies, including her internment in a concentration camp. I invite the viewer to look at the work in relation to the film. As a final note: the backbone of my project into researching female voices is a thesis examining community theater as a platform for underrepresented voices, emphasizing the role of listening in acknowledging and valuing diverse voices within democratic contexts. I have done this research simultaneously as my graduation project, graduating from a double bachelor: both in photography as well as in cultural analysis at the Erasmus University. While it does not literally translate into the project - it has influenced it tremendously.

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