ELIZABETH ALDERLIESTEN
Dordrecht (NL), 1972
Elizabeth Alderliesten is a Dutch artist and her main medium is analog photography. She currently lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
FRESH EYES Photo selected her as one of the 100 greatest emerging photography talents in Europe of 2020, she is featured on one of the four covers of the yearbook. She is also included in GUP New Photo Talent yearbook 2020.
She attends the year-long Photobook Workshop with Nearest Truth last year. In 2022 she participated in a workshop with Dirk Braeckman and Brad Feuerhelm in Athens. From 2020 until 2022 she attended Le Masterklass with Klavdij Sluban in Paris. In 2019 she followed an Masterclass with Machiel Botman in Amsterdam. She graduated from the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam in 2019.
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my latest work, I explore the essence of womanhood and the journey towards embracing one's authentic self. In her book, 'Women Who Run With the Wolves,' American Jungian psychologist and author Clarissa Pinkola Estes suggests that women, akin to wolves, possess an innate wildness or instinctual nature often suppressed or overlooked due to societal expectations and constraints imposed upon them during upbringing. Consequently, women may find themselves confined to roles that obscure their true essence. The capacity to adapt to external influences, encompassing various social circumstances, necessitates a perpetual metamorphosis of human existence. Reconnecting with one's instinctual nature becomes an ongoing pursuit, acknowledging that without darkness, there can be no light, and vice versa.
The subjects within my photographs symbolize this perpetual struggle between change and adaptation. Through delving into the complexity of a woman's dual nature—as both autonomous and nurturing—I seek to reestablish a connection with her untamed, genuine self, embracing the entirety of her being. I believe that by liberating themselves from societal expectations and constraints, women can reclaim their power, creativity, and vitality.
My photographs do not merely depict the external world but rather reflect my personal relationship with it and position in it. Each image encapsulates its own temporal and spatial dimensions, evoking a sense of poetic resonance that invites viewers to weave their own narratives. I am drawn to the transitional moments where uncertainty lingers, intrigued by the interplay between time and perception. Time serves as a pivotal element in both the capturing and printing processes. I am fascinated by the interval between the act of capturing an image with an analog camera and the enchantment that unfolds during the subsequent phases of imaginative transformation, devoid of any overt action.
Intuitively, I gather images on analog film, with the negative serving as a point of departure. In a sense, I soak all my work from reality and move it into an imaginary world. A world between magic and realism. The final iteration of the image emerges during the printing process or through manipulation of the digitized negative on screen.
CV
EDUCATION
2022 - 2023 Nearest Truth Photobook Program, Neu Ulm (DE), Istanbul (TR), Athens (GR)
2022 Workshop 'Between The Hammer And The Anvil' with Dirk Braeckman and Brad Feuerhelm, Athens (GR)
2020 - 2022 Le Masterklass with Klavdij Sluban, Paris (FR)
2019 - 2020 Masterclass with Machiel Botman, Haarlem & Amsterdam (NL)
2014 - 2019 Photo Academy, Amsterdam (NL)
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Where Silence Meets Me - In-Dependance Gallery by Ibasho - Antwerp (BE)
[re]DISCOVERIES - Loods6 - Amsterdam (NL)
2023 Remember Who You Once Were - Noort - Noordwijk (NL)
AIMPE - Inbe Art Space - Yoshinogawa-shi, Tokushima (JP)
2022 Printsale for Ukraine - Gallery Pexpo - Amsterdam (NL)
2021 Wander - Kunstlijn Haarlem / Studio Evelijn Ferwerda - Haarlem (NL)
Gleu - Thomstudio - Amsterdam (NL)
2020 FRESH EYES Photo - Westergas - Amsterdam (NL)
Wander - Galerie KRUIS-WEG68 - Haarlem (NL) (Solo) - Cancelled -
2019 GUP New Photo talent 2020 - Westergas - Amsterdam (NL)
Kunstlijn Haarlem - Zocherlounge - Bloemendaal (NL)
See Me - Zocher Lounge - Bloemendaal (NL)
Podium MH - Museum Hilversum - Hilversum (NL)
Expo.Fos - Loods 6 - Amsterdam (NL)
Ode aan het analoge - Kunstkapel - Amsterdam (NL)
2018 James Joyce Festival - Oosterkerk - Amsterdam (NL)
Pop-up Gallery - Bloemendaal (NL)
Open Atelier - Santpoort Zuid (NL)
2017 KKB Fiore - Castellvm Aqvae - Bloemendaal (NL)
KKB Fiore - Buitenplaats Leyduin - Vogelenzang (NL)
Zomerfestival - IJmuiden (NL)
Het Oog - Fotoacademie - Amsterdam (NL)
TALKS / PRESENTATIONS
2019 Podium MH - Museum Hilversum - Hilversum (NL)
ARTISTBOOK
2024 Remember Who You Once Were, Offset, 40 pages, 200 x 280 mm, 150 copies, Self-Published
2019 About Beauty - Inktjet printed, Hand bound, 58 pages, 297 x 268mm, 2 copies
2018 Aging - Inktjet printed, Hand bound, 48 pages, 297 x 217mm, 1 copy
2017 Wie ze is - Inktjet printed, Hand bound, 46 pages, 297 x 219mm, 1 copy
PUBLICATION
2021 FRESH EYES stories
2020 FRESH EYES Photo Talent / Cover
2020 GUP New Photo Talent
AWARDS
2021 Haute Photographie Talent
2020 FRESH EYES Photo Talent, Cover
2020 GUP New Photo Talent
RESIDENCY
2024 ArteVentura (ES)
Chateau Du Fresne (FR)