Astrid Verhoef Nederlands, 1973
“Imagination is key to shape a new and different reality for the future, for without imagination new ideas cannot be born”.
Astrid Verhoef uses her photography to investigate her connection to the natural world and the complicated relationship between human and nature. When she places herself in desolate landscapes, a character arises that wants to connect with her surroundings, but can feel out of place.
She can find peace & solace but also struggles with her roots in contemporary modern life and humankind's place in the natural world. Astrid’s images can be seen as emotional translations where an urge to control is challenged by the desire for synergy.
With an increasingly minimal visual language and and geometrical approach to composition, Astrid aims to emphasize the contrast between the human presence and the natural. At the same time she wants to create a moment or a scene that can only exist because of the combination of the two.
Verhoef’s photography can also be seen as an ode to imagination: “Imagination is key to shape a new and different reality for the future, for without imagination new ideas cannot be born”.
Astrid Verhoef's work is part of the collection of the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris and has been published internationally and exhibited in New York, Sydney, Paris, Milan, Tokyo and Berlin, among others. Her work has been awarded at the Prix de la Photographie Paris, International Photography Awards, Salon des Beaux Arts Paris, New York Photo Festival, and more.