Liz Johnson Artur - of life of love of sex of movement of hope © Foam. Photo: Christian van der Kooy.⁠

Opening Liz Johnson Artur & Foam 3H 

How to look at a photograph? 

One possible answer can be found in the performances by theatre collective LostProject—a multidisciplinary storytelling collective from Amsterdam Zuid-Oost. Four creative makers each respond in their own unique performative way to the works of Liz Johnson Artur.

Dance Performance by LostProjects

Screenshot of spoken word performance LostWords by Lavinia Aronson

Dialogue performance LostWords by Ryan Pinas and Georgiefa Boomdijk

Ways of Responding: Performance Art

Photography is a powerful tool that plays an important role in constructing cultural identity. <a href="/book-a-visit/public/zooming-in-photography-performance-and-the-mythical/21-07-2021">Sign up</a> to join us on 21 July for a Zoom conversation with Foam Talents Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso) and Lisandro Suriel, along with artist-archivist Angela N. Carroll.

This Summer, we dive deeper into Foam Talent 2021 by pairing up the selected artists in an online Zoom conversation. Each of the three events will be divided into two parts. The first part introduces the artists and their projects, focussing on their approach and motivation. After this, we take a closer look at the topics connecting the artists' work, aiming to contextualize their series within the photography field as well as current discourses in society. Each conversation will feature special guests to share their unique perspectives and reflections.
EPISODE 2: PHOTOGRAPHY, PERFORMANCE AND THE MYTHICAL Foam Talents: Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso) and Lisandro Suriel Special guest: Angela N. Carroll Date: 21 July 2021, 18:30 - 20.00 hrs CET
Photography is a powerful tool that&nbsp;plays an important role in constructing cultural identity.&nbsp;Questions on its influence on the viewer&rsquo;s perception, bias, and thoughts contribute to an important&nbsp;discussion on representation. Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso) and Lisandro Suriel have developed unique approaches weaving photography, performance and mysticism, offering a visual exploration of identity and belonging.
In their practices, both artists relate to the metaphysical and integrate performance into their work processes. Centring on the body of the artist, Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso)&rsquo;s work is about finding her space in the world to reflect on issues like sexism, racism, and homophobia. Lisandro Suriel&rsquo;s project Ghost Island stems from his research on forgotten histories in Saint Martin and combines academia and indigenous knowledge to create new imaginary.&nbsp;
In their own ways and rooted in their individual cultural backgrounds, both artists contribute to a more expansive visual representation of Black identity. Together with Angela N. Carroll, artist-archivist and investigator of art history and culture, Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso) and Lisandro Suriel will share insights into their artistic processes, research and the context of their work.
WATCH BACK
<ul>
<li>21 June:&nbsp;Intimacy in Times of Social Distancing&nbsp;with&nbsp;Ana Vallejo, Leonard Suryajaya and Gem Fletcher. -&gt;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q79jOhTZz48">Watch it here</a></li>
<li>21 July:&nbsp;Photography, Performance and the Mythical&nbsp;with Lisandro Suriel, Plantation and&nbsp;Angela N. Carroll. -&gt;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNZpxY24sJg&amp;t=17s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch it here</a></li>
</ul>
<a href="/book-a-visit/public/zooming-in-photography-performance-and-the-mythical/21-07-2021"><img src="https://a.storyblok.com/f/113697/2964x4752/76efb19ebd/15.jpg" alt="" width="596" height="956" /></a>Image from the series Jesus is white and other confessions &copy; Plantation (Ayomide Tejuoso), courtesy of the artist.
UPCOMING EPISODES
<ul>
<li class="p1">25 August 2021, 18.30 hrs CET: On Belonging&nbsp;with&nbsp;Delali&nbsp;Ayivi&nbsp;and Sol&egrave;ne&nbsp;G&uuml;n.</li>
</ul>
The Foam Talent Programme and the annual Talent issue of Foam Magazine are supported by&nbsp;the Deutsche B&ouml;rse Photography Foundation and the VandenEnde Foundation.
Foam Magazine is sponsored by Igepa Netherlands BV, supplier of excellent paper.
Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.
In 2021 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and Kickstart Cultuurfonds.

<div class="sidebar__content">EVENT INFO 
<div class="sidebar-widget">
25 August 2021
 TIME 18.30 hrs CET
&nbsp;
PRICE Free
&nbsp;
PLEASE NOTE This is an online event.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foam.org/book-a-visit/public/zooming-in-on-belonging/25-08-2021">Sign up</a> to receive a link to the online Zoom event.
</div></div>

Zooming In: Photography, Performance and the Mythical

You are invited to join us on 20 February for the public opening of the new Foam 3h exhibition with a musical performance by Yung-Tuan Ku.

With this public opening, Foam 3h kicks off 2020 with Sheng-Wen Lo&rsquo;s (Taiwan, 1987) exhibition Extendable Ears (2019). This project shows how, for a month, Lo continuously exposed himself to ultrasound waves in order to investigate the subjectivity of sound experience. Ultrasound waves exceed the audible human capacity, but can be heard by animals such as cats and dogs.
During the opening of Extendable Ears, the Taiwanese percussionist Yung-Tuan Ku will perform the piece Do you hear them sing? The piece is inspired by and created for this exhibition. By using different objects that create ultrasound waves, like a snare drum and a bat detector, the percussionist lingers between the hearable and the inaudible. Afterwards, there will be time to view the exhibition, have a drink and meet the artist.
<a href="https://foam.org/museum/programme/sheng-wen-lo-extendable-ears"><img src="https://a.storyblok.com/f/113697/595x298/4e538667d0/vlcsnap-2019-12-19-21h36m20s256_595x298.jpg" alt="" width="595" height="298" /></a> Sleep-time Recording, 21-06-2019 &copy; Sheng-Wen Lo
Extendable Ears consists of Lo&rsquo;s documentation of his month-long experiment. His findings are reproduced in 360o photos, videos of his everyday activities, surveillance-style images of Lo sleeping, and photographic scans of the dream diaries he kept during the experiment and shortly before it began.
In Lo&rsquo;s view, human-animal relations reflect the values, attitudes and collective memories that people have with respect to their environment. Lo encourages audiences to discuss the relationship between humans and animals. His investigative, yet slightly absurd approach to these issues allows the audience to think about deeply serious topics from a humorous and playful point of view.
<a href="https://foam.org/museum/programme/sheng-wen-lo-extendable-ears">&gt; Read more about this exhibition</a>
This exhibition is made possible with the support of the Van Bijlevelt Stichting and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten.
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, City of Amsterdam, Foam Members, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.

<div class="sidebar__content">Official Opening 
Thursday 19 March from 17.30 hrs onwards
&nbsp;</div>

Opening & performance: Sheng-Wen Lo

Foam invites you to a musical evening inspired by the exhibition Fixing Shadows with visual artist Eric Gyamfi and composer Danny van de Lugt.

Music and Photography; this might seem like an unlikely combination at first. However, still images can most certainly contain music or sound. During this special evening image and sound will alternate each other. A conversation with the artist will be followed by a sonic performance by composer Danny van de Lugt.
<img src="https://a.storyblok.com/f/113697/595x298/4e8a0407dc/untitled_0_from_the_series_fixing_shadows__julius_and_i_c_eric_gyamfi_595x298.jpg" alt="" width="595" height="298" />Untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I, 2018 &copy; Eric Gyamfi
Photographer Eric Gyamfi, born in Ghana, made the series Julius and I inspired by American minimal music composer, Julius Eastman. Gyamfi&rsquo;s most recent work plays with the notions around experimental compositions, repetitiveness and the fact that Eastman&rsquo;s compositions would contain theme&rsquo;s from previous pieces. In a similar fashion Gyamfi produces a countless number of variations of two images, where climate, amongs other circumstances, influenced the final outcome of his images, or more precisely; cyanotypes. The images are combined with whatsapp-messages narrated by his friends and even strangers, who explain the images in very different ways.
Danny van de Lugt, also known as Rural Juror, translates in his compositions non-audible data into sound. In previous projects Van de Lugt translated pictures and spaces into soundscapes. Van de Lugt enabled this by using an algorithm, which he wrote himself. After the performance both artists will reflect and respond to their respective works and the audience can join the conversation.
Visit this event and other&nbsp;<a href="/museum/programme/for-members">events</a> as a <a href="/about/memberships">Foam Member</a>.
Read more about the exhibition&nbsp;Eric Gyamfi - Fixing Shadows, on view at Foam from 13 December 2019 until 11 March 2020&nbsp;<a href="/museum/programme/eric-gyamfi">here</a>.
Eric Gyamfi is the winner of the 13th Foam Paul Huf Award, which is awarded annually by an international jury to talented photographers under the age of 35.
The exhibition is made possible by Kleurgamma Fine-Art Photolab.
The Foam Paul Huf Award is made possible by the generous support from an anonymous partner.
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Gemeente Amsterdam, Foam Members, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.

<div class="sidebar__content">event info 
Saturday 14 December 2019 18.00 - 20.00 hrs
 PRICE &euro;10 regular rate &euro;8&nbsp;<a href="/about/memberships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Foam Members</a>
 LANGUAGE English</div>

Resonance: Artist Talk & Sonic Performance

of life of love of sex of movement of hope

 by Liz Johnson Artur, artist Curtly Thomas presents the performance 

The performance will be available online for 12 days, until 8 February 2022.

The performance consists of two parts that will be presented alongside each other. The first part intervenes Liz Johnson Artur’s photographic works through a bodily projection. The second presents an ambigious scenario inspired by the vodou deity Papa Legba and the fictional spirit Doro.

Doro's Leg - Legba's Dog, 2022

smallboydanger performance at South London Gallery, 2018/2021

Doro's Leg - Legba's Dog A Curtly Thomas Performance

Foam proudly presents the solo exhibition 

by Hiền Hoàng, which encourages a multi-sensory reflection on the connection between humans and nature. Her practice is deeply shaped by interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists and technologists which reveal the ambivalent role of technology as both a means to understand nature and a force that distances us from it. 

Scent from Heaven, Still from the Film No. 3, 2023

Foam

A new best life, 2021

A scan from the Photo album of the artist's late aunt.

Made in Rice, backstage from the left video, 2021.

Lidar-Mesh from the experiment, 2024

Hiền Hoàng - Garden of Entanglement

Join us on Thursday, 28 August, for a special edition of 

 by Augusta Curiel. This evening of deep listening brings together sound, image, and archive, inviting you not only to see Suriname but also to hear it.

The programme begins with a live performance by 

, followed by a lecture around the work led by 

Throughout the evening, we invite you to explore vinyl listening stations featuring curated Surinamese music that offer new ways to engage with Curiel’s photographic legacy through rhythm, memory, and atmosphere.

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

is a close observation of performance in everyday life. Which roles do we act out on a daily basis and how does that influence our identities? Using the metaphor of the theatre to separate private (

) spheres, Eleonora Agostini studies her mother’s behaviours, gestures and expressions in her job as a waitress. 

Puzzling together photographs, archival images, moving images and texts into various collages, Eleonora Agostini breaks down the layers of performance one by one, revealing the repetitiveness of gestures, habits and adopted mannerisms used in serving clients.  

The work is also a commentary on the feminist theory of the “gaze”. The restaurant becomes the space where her mother is both the observer and the observed, where parts of her public behaviour as a waitress bleed into her private behaviour of being an individual, woman, and mother. Through her project, Agostini examines this relationship between the female body and the different social roles it performs in different spaces. 

From the series A Study on Waitressing

Eleonora Agostini

Open Garden Days 2025

On Thursday, 4 September, Foam presents the evening programme 

: AI in the Archive, in collaboration with 

This symposium explores the power, vulnerability, and future of the photographic archive—particularly online archives—through the lens of collections related to the Second World War and heritage institutions. Hosted by Ahmet Polat, guest speakers 

Re-Enactment

Archief foto's

Preservation is Power: AI in the Archive

Aby Fulani

A still from Wild Encounters, 2023

"At a certain point I lost track of you. 
They make a desolation and call it peace. 
when you left even the stones were buried: 
the defenceless would have no weapons." 

"When the ibex rubs itself against the rocks, 
who collects its fallen fleece from the slopes? 
O Weaver whose seems perfectly vanished, 
who weighs the hairs on the jeweller’s balance?"

"If only somehow you could have been mine, 
what would not have been possible in the world?" 

‘In the lake the arms of temples and mosques are locked in each other’s reflections.  
Have you soaked saffron to pour on them when they are found like this  
centuries later in this country  
I have stitched to your shadow?’ 

Liz Johnson Artur - of life of love of sex of movement of hope, 2021

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounter. About the work of Hira Nabi

Opening Hiền Hoàng

 by Dutch artist duo Blommers & Schumm, offering an in-depth look at over 25 years of their playful and provocative image-making. 

Join us at Foam on Friday, 19 September from 18.30 hrs for the celebratory opening of the exhibition in the presence of the artists with free entrance, a dj performance by 

Carcy Magazine Styling Hannes Hetta ,2018

Ciara, 1998. Styling by Suzanne Koller

Opening Blommers & Schumm

Coming soon

Now on

News

Later this year

Access to press kits

Mark Spitz, 1972, Olympic Games

A scan from the photo album of the artist's late aunt. Courtesy of the artist's family.

What's Ours, 2019

Want to receive news about upcoming exhibitions and events? Sign up for our press list newsletter.

Sign up for updates

about

current programme

Foam Magazine

explore more

Press Office

Page 144-145 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES.

Page 138-139 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES

Page 142-143 in Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES

Presenting Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES—The Environmental Issue

Time to change perspective.

Foam Magazine #64 Extremes - The Environmental Issue Cover: Abundance, 2023

On Transience – The Ebb & The Flow

by Ajamu X. On this festive evening, we will explore what it means to archive from Black queer perspectives together with the artist and guest speakers 

. No traditional panel, but a rhythmic, instinctive curated programme filled with space for encounter, nuance and vulnerability.

During this event, artist JeanPaul Paula will show a performance that is physical, concentrated and ritualistic in nature, with the body acting as both a sculptural and political medium.

Ajamu X and JG Basdew, November 2024

JeanPaul Paula, 2025

Bete van Meeuwen, 2025

Black Queer Archiving: Questioned at the Intersection, 2025

Opening Ajamu X - Us in the Frame

Created by Namsa Leuba in 2015. The artwork is an inkjet print on satin paper on dibond 2mm and displayed at 60 x 43.8 cm.

Waves from the Web, 2009

Visible in

This photo is bursting with graphic forms and lively colours, and the model’s posture radiates a sense of pride. The pink background contrasts with the yellow on Damien’s cheek. Aesthetically, this photo resembles a fashion shoot, much like you can find in a fashion magazine. Yet the photographer Namsa Leuba actually works in the space between multiple genres: inspired by fashion photography, she combines this form with documentary practices and performance art. In het series 

, she explores Nigeria’s innovative and creative youth culture. The Nigerian capital of Lagos, with its bustling chaos and resolute energy, served as Leuba’s inspiration for this series. To create 

, she collaborated with local fashion designers and models to translate the city’s vitality into a visual explosion of clothing, props and accessories. The resulting images, such as this portrait of Damien, present a complex, dynamic and contemporary reflection of Lagos, a city that proudly proclaims its own identity. 

Damien, 2015 from the series Next Generation Lagos, 2015

Damien, 2015

Created by Nick Helderman in 2011. The artwork is a c-print and displayed at 70 x 48 cm.

How would you create a portrait of a rock band? An official portrait made in a studio, or a picture taken during a live performance? The Dutch photographer Nick Helderman opted for a different approach: he portrayed the members of indie rock band The Luyas, Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider, at an unguarded moment of leisure and play. Two elements stand out in this photograph: the action and the scale. The two band members are photographed while playing with a small blue ball, their postures capturing the dynamism of the moment. The band members are also photographed from a distance, with one even turned away from the camera. As a result, the two men draw comparatively less attention than the empty street, the bare walls, and the abstract construction towering above them. Nick Helderman’s work was displayed durin

, an exhibition staged in collaboration with Amsterdam’s music magazine Subbacultcha. 

 was the second exhibition of a series in which Foam focused on the overlap between photography and other artistic media.  

Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider (The Luyas)

Created by Pieter Hugo in 2007. The artwork is a digital c-print and displayed at 152.4 x 152.4 cm.

visible in

What body language do you observe in this double portrait of a man and a hyena? Inspired by a conversation with a friend, the Dutch photographer Pieter Hugo travelled to Nigeria to meet the so-called ‘hyena men’, a group of traveling performers shrouded in mystery. Rather than capturing the performances themselves, Hugo was more intrigued by the relation between the animal trainers and their hyenas. Tensed muscles, wide stance, and fierce gaze: both figures embody a sense of power and strength. The power play between Abdullahi Mohammed and Mainasara becomes physically visible in this image, in which the animal trainer keeps the hyena under control. 

, Hugo travelled with the Hyena men for two years, creating a range of work that hovers midway between documentary and portrait photography. 

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara,  Ogre-Remo, Nigeria, 2007 from the series The Hyena & Other Men

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Ogre-Remo, Nigeria, 2007

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara,  Ogre-Remo, Nigeria, 2007

 in 2009. Using c-print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 140 x 110 cm.

Untitled #13, from the series Liquid Portraits, 2009

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.

In 2021 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and Kickstart Cultuurfonds

more artworks

Untitled #13, from the series You Can't Stop Me Now, 2009

Untitled #13, from the series You Can't Stop Me Now

Untitled #13

 in 2011. Using c-print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 60 x 50 cm.

Number 1, from the series Color Cocktail, 2011

Number 1

 in 2010. Using c-print on a wooden easel as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 150 x 110 cm.

Paper #1 from the series Building Images, 2010

Paper #1

Folder #1 from the series Building Images, 2010

Folder #1 from the series Building Images

Folder #1

 in 2009. Using c-print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 60 x 83 cm.

Deborah, from the series Week– End, 2009

Deborah

 in 2020/2021. Using c-print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 120 x 80 cm.

 stems from Suriel's research on forgotten histories in Saint Martin and combines academia and indigenous knowledge to create a new imaginary. 

Sangoma from the series Ghost Island

Sangoma

 in 2012-16. Using inkjet print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 140 x 100.

Mariage á Loèche-les-Bains (Marriage in Leukerbad), from the series Ekaterina, 2012-16

visible in 

Romain Mader’s Ekatarina is notable for the humour and irony with which he addresses serious issues: solitude, love, exploitation and the female body. In this Chinese box of a project, each layer opens to reveal a new interpretive possibility. What is real here, and what is fiction? 

exhibitions

This selfie depicts Romain Mader with his wife: it’s the end of the artist’s alter ego’s search of a wife. He started his mission in Ukraine, in an imaginary city mysteriously populated only by women, all named Ekaterina, and each hoping to find a rich western husband. In an utterly naïve narration by Romain about his search for the one and only Ekaterina, a series of stereotypes take the stage, from Mader performing as an oblivious western sex tourist, to interchangeable Ukrainian brides, up to the “typical” Soviet backdrop to the whole quest for love. The gap between preconceived ideas about a place like Ukraine and its reality is what is constantly exploited to the point of absurdity in Mader’s work. In a photographic language that perfectly employs the conventions of documentary photography, the confusion between what is fictitious and what is real – or what seems real – ultimately arises as a goal in itself.

Mariage á Loèche-les-Bains (Marriage in Leukerbad) from the series Ekaterina

 in 2012-16. Using inkjet print as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 40 x 50.

Demande en marriage, from the series Ekaterina, 2012-16

This picture depicts Romain Mader with his fiancée: it’s the end of the artist’s alter ego’s search of a wife. He started his mission in Ukraine, in an imaginary city mysteriously populated only by women, all named Ekaterina, and each hoping to find a rich western husband. In an utterly naïve narration by Romain about his search for the one and only Ekaterina, a series of stereotypes take the stage, from Mader performing as an oblivious western sex tourist, to interchangeable Ukrainian brides, up to the “typical” Soviet backdrop to the whole quest for love. The gap between preconceived ideas about a place like Ukraine and its reality is what is constantly exploited to the point of absurdity in Mader’s work. In a photographic language that perfectly employs the conventions of documentary photography, the confusion between what is fictitious and what is real – or what seems real – ultimately arises as a goal in itself.

Demande en marriage from the series Ekaterina

performance

Ways of Responding: Performance Art

Zooming In: Photography, Performance and the Mythical

Opening & performance: Sheng-Wen Lo

Resonance: Artist Talk & Sonic Performance

Doro's Leg - Legba's Dog
A performance by Curtly Thomas

Hiền Hoàng
Garden of Entanglement

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

Eleonora Agostini

Preservation is Power: AI in the Archive

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounters
About the work of Hira Nabi

Opening Blommers & Schumm Mid-Air

Press Office

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Opening Ajamu X Us in the Frame

Damien, 2015

Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider (The Luyas)

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Ogre-Remo, Nigeria, 2007

Untitled #13, from the series You Can't Stop Me Now

Number 1 from the series Color Cocktail

Paper #1 from the series Building Images

Folder #1 from the series Building Images

Deborah from the series Week – End

Sangoma from the series Ghost Island

Mariage á Loèche-les-Bains (Marriage in Leukerbad) from the series Ekaterina

Demande en marriage from the series Ekaterina

performance

Ways of Responding: Performance Art

Zooming In: Photography, Performance and the Mythical

Opening & performance: Sheng-Wen Lo

Resonance: Artist Talk & Sonic Performance

Doro's Leg - Legba's DogA performance by Curtly Thomas

Hiền Hoàng Garden of Entanglement

Afrovism: The Garden of Frequencies

Eleonora Agostini

Preservation is Power: AI in the Archive

How to Love a Tree: Wild EncountersAbout the work of Hira Nabi

Opening Blommers & Schumm Mid-Air

Press Office

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Opening Ajamu X Us in the Frame

Damien, 2015

Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider (The Luyas)

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Ogre-Remo, Nigeria, 2007

Untitled #13, from the series You Can't Stop Me Now

Number 1 from the series Color Cocktail

Paper #1 from the series Building Images

Folder #1 from the series Building Images

Deborah from the series Week – End

Sangoma from the series Ghost Island

Mariage á Loèche-les-Bains (Marriage in Leukerbad) from the series Ekaterina

Demande en marriage from the series Ekaterina

Doro's Leg - Legba's Dog
A performance by Curtly Thomas

Hiền Hoàng
Garden of Entanglement

How to Love a Tree: Wild Encounters
About the work of Hira Nabi