PRESS RELEASE | Amsterdam, 23 February 2011
Dana Lixenberg - Set Amsterdam
25 March - 5 June 2011
In Set Amsterdam, Dana Lixenberg
portrays the city in a series of landscapes and interiors. These
photographs depict Amsterdam as a kind of film set, fashioned by
its current and former residents. The absence of people in the
images turns the viewer's gaze to the space itself and to the
myriad details which define these environments. In Set
Amsterdam only traces of human activity hint at inhabitants
and at lives fully lived.
Lixenberg was inspired to create these photographs after
being commissioned to create actors' portraits for the eight-part
television series A'dam - E.v.a.
(Amsterdam and many others). This series, written by
Robert Alberdingk Thijm and directed by Norbert ter Hall, broadcast
from 6 March 2011 on Dutch television, examines individual lives in
the city of Amsterdam. Her work on the series eventually guided
Lixenberg to locations previously inconspicuous to her, such as a
former bomb shelter, a Ghanaian church, cemeteries, a morgue,
Amsterdam's garbage incinerator and other public and private
spaces. Lixenberg sought environments imparting a sense of
transience that bear witness to the human stamp of its former
residents. She also photographed spaces still filled with life and
which, through subtle attention to detail and atmosphere, evoke a
way of life.
Set Amsterdam occupies a unique place in Dana Lixenberg's
oeuvre. Previously, Lixenberg's work has been known to largely
focus on people and communities, often with a marginalized history
or social position, while intentionally avoiding direct references
to her subjects' lives. Her sober and direct gaze has captured the
vulnerability of individual human lives. Lixenberg takes a similar
approach to environments in this body of work, only absent the
human presence. This is the first time Lixenberg has created a
series about her native Amsterdam, where she was raised but which
she left to live in New York City. This permits her,
in Set Amsterdam, to survey her familiar city
with new eyes.
Dana Lixenberg is a leading Dutch photographer whose work has been
published in photo books and in international magazines. She has
also exhibited work at major museums in the Netherlands and
throughout the world.
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Set Amsterdam was made possible with support from
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Stadsarchief Amsterdam and
Stichting Dela Fonds.
The exhibition Set Amsterdam, by Dana Lixenberg can
be seen from 25 March to 5 June 2011 at Foam. Open daily
10 am - 6 pm, Thurs/Fri 10 am - 9 pm. Tickets: € 8,00
Note to editors: For information and visual material please
contact Merel Kappelhoff (communications), e-mail merel[at]foam.org
or phone +31 (0)20 5516500.
Foam is sponsored by the BankGiro Loterij, the VandenEnde
Foundation and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.