About

I was born in 1974 in Amsterdam and grew up in the unique, multicultural, and vibrant Cremerbuurt. There, I was exposed to different cultures, theater, music, and other art forms at a young age. However, it would take some time before I would express my own creativity.

After completing a singing and performance education at AVLM, I tried my luck as a singer-songwriter on stage between 2002-2007. I also presented and organized the Salon voor Woorden in collaboration with De Nieuwe Garde in Groningen and Rotterdam. Although I enjoyed the spotlight, my work as a singer-songwriter and theater maker did not bring the desired results. My intimate texts and songs needed more time, and I needed more time to grow as a person. After working behind the scenes for years, I eventually left the theater behind.

My creativity received a new impulse when I started experimenting with photography. I had always considered the camera a magical device and I photographed with great pleasure. My photographic insight allowed me to apply for the design program at the Graphic Lyceum in Utrecht. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough in other areas. Nevertheless, the Graphic Business Management course at the same lyceum gave me the opportunity to work with images and in the darkroom. However, my passion was much more focused on music, causing photography to fade into the background, except during vacations.

A little over ten years ago, I started photographing dancers and dance performances. There I found a connection, a style, and a voice that benefited from my experience as a theater technician and lighting designer. I still remember climbing onto the bar during a dance performance at Stairway to Heaven in Utrecht, pulling the filters out of the lamps, and adjusting the light so that I could take the photos I wanted that evening. Seeing the photos on your screen for the first time the next day and realizing that you created that was a special feeling. The experience and passion came together and went hand in hand from that moment on.

This way, an old passion was given new life, I started expressing myself creatively again, and shortly after, I founded ‘Passie in Beeld’ to delve deeper into the profession of photographer. At the Henny Jurriëns Studio, I quickly became the house photographer and photographed many dancers, workshops, and choreographers. Outside the dance studio, a photo assignment for De Voorleesexpress was one of my first serious jobs. The photos appeared in various newspapers and magazines. Over the years, I photographed events and conferences for the PO-Raad and worked as a theater photographer for several editions of the Dancing on the Edge festival. I hardly created any autonomous work.

The real turning point came during two trips through New Zealand. In two years, I saw beautiful things, experienced nature, met new people, and photographed intensively for four and a half months. I edited photos on-site, took video lessons, and built up a photo catalog with about 27,000 raw images.

These trips offered a break from the tense life I had led before due to the aftermath of a difficult youth, burnout, and the emotional burden of a father with severe depression. It felt as if I had come to a standstill and no longer dared to seek adventure.

Through traveling, I rediscovered myself, felt my place in life, and learned to play, discover, and enjoy my innate creativity again. After my return, I fully committed to creativity. I learned to tell my stories and reflect my inner self. My first real autonomous series, “Van Licht en Donker”, showed me new possibilities in photography. Being able to see what lives within me removed a blind spot that I had for years regarding my own emotions.

In recent years, I have come out of my shell further and focus, besides assignments, on larger projects. These connect photography, emotion, self-development, and special stories from beneath the surface. “Een Goed Gesprek” and “Ik ben een Kunstwerk” are prime examples of this.

In 2020, I launched an online exhibition in a self-built virtual museum titled “Ook dit gaat voorbij.” Shortly after the opening, my father unexpectedly passed away. The exhibition had another power; it was a moment where I could show my father who I had become. That he could experience that and was proud of me is something I’m very grateful for.

With this work, I received publicity and was interviewed by various media. In 2021, I received a grant for a podcast series: “Tijd voor een Goed Gesprek.” This series will be festively launched soon, and preparations are in full swing.

Photography has given me a voice that carries the same strength, vulnerability, and emotion as singing once did. It’s a medium that helps me engage in deeper conversations than music ever did. The fact that we live in a visual culture makes conversations about photography almost self-evident, and that is essential to me for a healthy and happy future as an artist.

Photography, passion, and emotion come together in my work. It’s about showing the works of art that we are inside and sharing that with each other.

Jelle