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NEWS
Welcome
a love letter to haarlem
Just roaming
Paris felt theatrical and grand, Malaga felt layed back and extra, Amsterdam felt somewhat trippy and lively. But Haarlem feels warm and cosy.
Trees that encapsulate streets like an arm protecting you from the rain, benches outside of houses with cats on them and some friendly local petting it. Children playing, whilst their parents watch them from their kitchen windows and courtyards where communities gather.
Houses and structures stacked together, sprawling around seemingly chaotically. At least in the old parts, it seemed like there was no city planner back then. Which gives it character, it tells its story. Most buildings seem to tell some kind of individual story in chapter that is that street or alley.
And the alleys are my favourite. They’re not back alleys, most of them are little streets. They lead to courtyards, have front doors with decorations and cafés with tables outside.
Haarlem pulled me in, I felt immersed and embraced by the city. Like a hug that I did not know I needed.
noise & noise
body’s of work
The messiness and the grit, the filth and farts. I don’t care about what’s under your nails, I care about what your hands have done and will do. I don’t care about your attempt at doing your hair, I care about what is there, that skull. I don’t care about the shit that you spew, I just hope the food was good and that there was enough. I don’t care about how it looks, I care about what happened and that the story is told accordingly to what happened. FUCK THE PONY SHOW Let it be known that I will embrace it. The messiness and the grit, the filth and farts. And all other vile shit if needs be.
My style continues to evolve, some would say devolve. It doesn’t matter to me, I like this. Take it or leave it.
inside out
Externalising the internal
Recently I decided that I wanted to meet more artists and potentially get to know their relation to the work or the process of making art, partially out of curiosity and partially out of selfish reasons. I thought: ‘since we artists often have to attempt to sell our work or our selves’ it’s best to get to know them under the guise of an art project. I would take a photo of them and then make a photoshop collage out of them intergrated with their works. So I could see how they behaved as people, worked or spoke about their work or anything really.
Watching what they do and how they behave and what they think about their work or see themselves or their work.
Jaskamal
Jaskamal Dhesi Kaur is an abstract painter who works intuitively, a direct expression of her internal world. Deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy, she embraces change, an energy that manifests in the flowing forms, vivid contrasts, and (often) vibrant paintings.
She as a person was not what I expected. I thought she would be a lot more superficial and more focused on the skill aspect of her work. Probably because of how she portrays herself or the different techniques she uses in her paintings. But upon meeting her, there seemed to be delicate thoughts and feelings that had been combed over. As if she recently changed and was still getting used to it.
Kees
Kees te Kolsté is an artist whose work is shaped by a lifelong engagement with Zen aesthetics and martial arts. For him, art is a form of disciplined introspection rooted in repetition, meditation, and inner vision. Influenced by artists like Cy Twombly and Magritte, his style ranges from abstract to figurative, yet always expresses an inner world.
When you walk into Kees’s his house the first thing you see is a matted up traditional martial artist dojo to your right and an unreasonable amount of paintings stored to your left (knowing that that part is only a fraction of the works he made is the part that makes it so unreasonable). Wich really encapculates his personality and the way he works. He is a practicioner of art.
From my own on and of personal experience of martial arts (admitely less on the traditional side), I can regognize things in the way Kees speaks about his work from the process from martial arts. Because in martial arts it is necesarry to test, experiment but most importantly be in a state of practice most of the time. That is what he truly seemed like to me, disregarding his ways of thinking and what he makes, he is a practicioner.
Leon
Leon van Wijk creates work that explores the interaction between people, cultures, and everyday objects.
Using bright colors and bold characters, his portraits are layered and open to multiple interpretations. Depending on the viewer’s perspective, each face reveals a different emotion. At the heart of his work is the emotional connection we share with our loved ones, where everything is deeply intertwined.
If you’ve been to my studio before, you’ve probably seen Leon’s work. We’ve exhibited together many times. He’s one of the most reliable professionals I know. Always on time, sticks to his appointments, and follows through on every commitment.
But when Leon comes to work, something shifts. He is having fun, defintion of: ‘Man is at its best at play.’
Corpus Numina
body’s of work
Corpus Numina
collected in passage
images taken in churches across a city
layered and recomposed
to form a new body
an echo-structure
a physical memory
not of faith, but of presence.
Recently, I’ve been creating bodies of work (pun intended) based on cities I’ve travelled to. These bodies are formed from churches across those cities. One from Paris, one from London, and one from Málaga.
When I travel to these cities, I love visiting churches. They represent more than anything: a moment in time, anchored in a specific place in the world. As a result, you should be able to recognize distinct characteristics of these places in the artworks.
During these kinds of edits, I’m (almost) entirely focused on the result, making sure it looks the way I want it to, without compromising the concept and while maintaining a cohesive series.
That being said, these works were very meditative to make. It reminds me of something I’ve said before:
“It seems that with any kind of project, whenever I focus on the process or the manner of execution, the result ends up feeling like the most important part in hindsight. And whenever I focus on the result, the process itself ends up being the real reward.”
And I truly enjoyed making these works.
Just roaming -paris
Street Photography
The street photography continues, but this time I traveled to Paris for what felt like an instinctive artistic retreat. I’m aware this sounds somewhat pretentious and, honestly, it kind of is.
Still, I feel there’s more to it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: street photography is such an accessible way to practice your craft, improve your skills, and reflect on life, all without withdrawing from it.
This time, I found myself in a new city, immersed in a different culture and history. Here, I indulged in the ancient arts of people-watching and exploration.
What stood out immediately was the abundance of art galleries in both Paris and Versailles. Beyond the obvious historical monuments and museums, there seems to be a much deeper appreciation for beauty, especially compared to other countries I’ve visited. From the ornate decorations in a small café to a random pillar outside an office building, beauty seems to exist everywhere. And it’s not loud or garish. It’s not only grand but subtle, integrated present in both grand gestures and quiet details.
When it comes to Paris, the city itself transforms throughout the day, highlighting different things as the light shifts. The way Paris is designed large, spread out, with relatively tall buildings means that the sun turns it into a kind of theater. Shadows move like dancers and people appear like scenes in short stories under the sun, only to quickly vanish again in some shadow. It’s a city of light and shadow.
Versailles, was partially crammed with tourists (around the monuments) and outside of that real French life went on.
Just roaming – Amsterdam
Street Photography
Recently, during a busy period, I decided to focus on street photography, something I often come back to.
From a practical standpoint, street photography is something you can just do. You don’t need to find a location, schedule a model, or make an intricate plan to get the kind of image you want. The entry barrier is low: bring a camera, start walking, and press the shutter button. You don’t need anyone else or much preparation, just a rough idea of where to go.
But for me personally, it was really just a perfect way to reflect and practice introspection. Even though you’re roaming through a city, taking in the sounds, the smells and the sights while life continues around you, I found there’s a certain kind of solitude to be experienced throughout the process.
During this time, I had thoughts like:
It seems that with any kind of project, whenever I focus on the process or the manner of execution, the result ends up feeling like the most important part in hindsight. And whenever I focus on the result, the process itself ends up being the real reward.
With that being said, I’m relatively suprised by these photo’s. In a good way.
Textuur
DeLangeStudio- A Collaborative Art Experiment
On Saturday, March 29th, the final presentation of TextUur took place at DeLangeStudio, a unique art experiment made possible by the municipality of Wormerland. Over the past month, five duos, each consisting of a writer and a visual artist, worked closely together to create a collaborative artwork. The results were unveiled in a special presentation for both a public audience and a jury. The participating duos were:
Each presentation was unique. After much deliberation, the jury and audience awarded the top prize to Mike de Vos and Kleine Marco, whose work stood out for its emotional depth and compelling delivery. They were presented with a specially created artwork by Leon van Wijk. We look back on a fantastic afternoon, with a great turnout, inspiring conversations, and even a feature in the Noord-Hollands Dagblad newspaper. Many thanks to all participants, visitors, and supporters.
Stills
Story’s
These days, I create short series, photos that flow together like comic strips, film frames, or storyboards.
I’m not trying to tell a fixed story. It’s more about what drifts through my mind, the unspoken, the feeling it stirs. That’s what I capture or create.
It’s open, free so the viewer can step in and find their own story within it.
1
Night photography
A proces with a by-product
Recently, I completed my series of night photos, a total of nine pieces. It is titled ‘1’ because there is always one thing that draws attention—you are visually focused on one thing. For example, when you are outside and look up at the sky and see a full moon, at that moment all you can see is the moon, the shape and its details. It draws you in. For this series I went out with complete freedom. For me, it was about the process of being allowed to feel if a photo was good rather than having to force a good photo over and over again. The result, the photos, are a by-product of the proces.
Málaga & amsterdam
Street Photography
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of street photography in various cities.
A collection of shots of Amsterdam at night. Crowds and stillness seems to be the contrast that defines the city.
Last month, I was in Spain at Casa Adnew (Málaga), an art house where I took part in the opening exhibition. While I was there, I rented a car and set off to explore the area. This resulted in a series of street photography shots.
Bands and Artists
Photography and live Recording
Bands and Artists
Lately, I’ve been photographing bands and artists on a regular basis, reportage, album covers and other things. If I’m happy with the results, I post them on Instagram.
Live recording
Beyond just photography, the punk band Frankie Teardrop recently performed at De Groote Weiver in Krommenie. It was high-energy music in an intimate venue with LED panels and various lighting equipment on the walls. Lots of noise, with flashing lights. I made a live recording of one of their songs.
the dongboard
Avant-garde contemporary art
DONGBOARD
In the UNKnowN Art gallery (Zaandam) you can see a special work of mine, not a photo. It is a Dongboard, an avant-garde functional art piece with real French hair. With my first art piece outside of photography I’m hoping to leave big impression.
ZAANS PRISMA
ZAANS PRISMA
For the celebration of 5 years of ZaanPride (Zaanse Regenboogparade) in the year of 50 years of Zaanstad (2024), I made a photo series ZaansPrisma. I photographed 8 different people, lhbtiqa+ and straight, one in black and white in my studio, one in color at a location of their choice and a video with a short interview. The whole thing was on display in ArtZaanstad in June, as an ode to diversity. One newspaper said: ‘The result is a series of very diverse personalities.’ This will soon be visible in my DeLangeStudio.
Observing
performances
I regularly visit performances and then I make a reportage. For example, to De Kamer in Zaandam, the Hembrugterrein, De Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam. For performances of punk, rap, metal bands, theater performances, poetry and so on.
‘1′
stillness
Occasionally, at suitable moments, I start working on my mini-series ‘stillness’: night photography in appropriate black and white. Alone in the dark, looking for silence.
‘opening delangestudio’
DeLangeStudio
On April 6, 2024 I opened my DeLangeStudio. In Wormer, I was assigned a building, especially for artists, where you can live and work. I have furnished the studio space as an exhibition space, photo studio and meeting space. The opening, with performances by singer Luca Takes and Zaanse city poet Reinier Fosch, was a success. In addition to photos of mine, you saw work by Leon van Wijk, Mike de Vos, Teppo Korte and Marga Hessels .
‘Experimenting’
Moving stills
Lately I have been experimenting with moving double exposures/collages. During the exhibition at Artzaanstad I made portraits of a number of visitors, some of whom I used for the double exposures. Now I am working on applying this to portrait photos of visitors to the atelierroute in Wormer. I’ll keep experimenting with these. I’ll probably take more photo’s during some of my other exhibitions, if you want a free portrait photo or to potentially be apart of the series, sign up to my news letter and I’ll let you know what exhibition I will be shooting at.
I will be posting the video’s on my instagram in the meantime.
‘Zaanpride’
The Zaanse Rainbow Parade
ZaanPride, on June 10, I joined the parade, it was busy and hot. A rough and exhausting. Also very rewarding, many enthusiastic people who were active to see what ZaanPride and the Zaanse Regenboog stand for. Here a few photos from that day here. More at: @daviddelange48
By the way, a novelty: in 2025 the national Roze Zaterdag (Pink saturday) will be in the Zaanstreek.
‘Hoe ik je zie’
Art Zaanstad
It is that time again! I will exhibit with my self-portraits!
This time during the group exhibition ‘Hoe ik je zie’ by Artzaanstad on the Hembrugterrein in Zaandam, with a number of new prints on a new kind of material.
The opening is Saturday on the 25th of February at 2.30 pm.
Other participants are Elizabeth Koning (photography), Hobie Minnebreeker (photography) and Teun Anders & Monique van Laake (photography/graphic arts).
2022
1000
Days of Self-Portraits
ITS HAPPENING:
I AM RELEASING MY BOOK: ”1000 DAYS OF SELF-PORTRAITS‘
ON SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 14:00 IN GALLERY PLAY ROOM IN ZAANDAM
WITH A SOLO EXPOSITION FROM 27 NOVEMBER TILL 11 DECEMBER
COME VISIT: WESTZIJDE 99, ZAANDAM.
ZAANSE GLORIE
7-30 October 2022
In collaboration with Fluxus, PLAY room and Café Mama Foundation White Cube is organising “Zaanse Glorie” in collaboration with Fluxus, PLAY room and Café Mama Foundation. The goal of this exposition is to gain awareness for the artist located in the Zaanstreek.
I will be one of 17 Zaanse artists. TThe artists were selected for their qualitative work as well as the way they express the unique, industrial characteristics of the Zaanstreek within their work.
Location: PLAY room (Westzijde 99) en Fluxus (Westzijde 168)
Time and date: 7-30 October 13:00 – 18:00
Fr. 7 october opening 18:00 – 21:00
ZAANPRIDE
Through the eyes of Armen Melkonian
This year the ZaanPride was held for the first time in the Zaanstreek. I wanted to participate as a photographer and I had the opportunity to personally follow Ambassador Armen before and during the trip. Armen has fled Syria because of the war and because of his sexuality. I became acquainted with him and photographed him the first time in the library where he spoke at the opening of the Pride. During the Rainbowparade on Saturday, he was at the forefront as ambassador. Dagblad Zaanstreek also showed interest and published a report viewed from Armen. Including my photo’s. The Parade was exactly like the motto: OUT LOUD PROUD!!
1000
Days of Self-Portraits
28-01-2019 I decided to commit to a 1000 days of self-portraits series.
I finished the series 23-10-2021.
It took me 142,86 weeks or 32,87 months or 2,74 years. It was a long journey that changed me as a person and photographer in many ways. I learned lots of things, gained so many experiences and occasionally lost parts of my sanity.
During this series I realised you can display a human in 1000’s of different ways.
Three years later, will I expose this work, will I release a book? Stay tuned…
For now the series is visible on my Instagram
AMNESTY
Ride for Rights
In 2021 I documented Amnesty Internatiol action: Ride for Rights. A large group of motorcyclists gathered at the Westergasfabriek, from there they toured the city adorned in rainbow colours. With this they drew attention for LGBTQ+ rights in Poland.
More info: www.amnesty.nl/actueel/ride-for-rights
BROKKING
End of an Era
Brokking was an old factory for fodder, located next to the channel de Zaan in Wormerveer. The building from 1930 was being demolished to make way for new houses. The demolishing was an incredibly spectaculair sight. A landmark of the region since the days of my grandparents, now a pile of rubble resembling a war zone.
I documented a part of history for my region the Zaanstreek.
MOVING A HOSPITAL
The move of the Zaans Medisch Centrum
In 2014 the building of a new hospital started, right next to the old building. In januari 2017 they started the process, the move was planned meticulously. To move the patients, they build a tunnel from one place to the other. It was an impressive collective effort to behold.