Open Theme 2nd place winner

In his enigmatic photo series 'Is This The Poem I Promised You?', Dutch photographer Richard Westerhuis (1965) subtly portrays the concept of domesticity. Using dozens of sets and props, he recreates rooms in which something remarkable seems to have happened. The characters from the story have disappeared, but what they have left behind speaks volumes and stimulates our imagination.

In every photo of such a recreated room, the light is slightly different and there are new props to be seen. They raise many questions: Who were the inhabitants of this house? Why did they suddenly leave? Did something bad happen? Or is there another, much simpler explanation for why the rooms look so cluttered and empty? By using the light in a very targeted way and working with special color filters, Westerhuis always creates a different universe with its own atmosphere. In doing so, he shows us what it means to have a home base: the only place where you can be yourself. Westerhuis' recent series of photos is inspired by the study La poétique de l'espace by the French philosopher and writer Gaston Bachelard (1957), who discusses the imagination surrounding space and domesticity.

Not hindered by the frameworks of an education, Richard has expanded his oeuvre by watching and learning from the best, by doing, by experiencing, by combining feeling and intuition. As an autodidact, he has been experimenting with light and technology since his first series. From his former fascination with the process in the darkroom, he wants to use digital manipulation as little as possible. The end result is what the camera records. Due to his motivation to get to know all processes in detail, his work is both staged and intuitive in the moment. The dramatizing elements such as light and perspective give his images their narrative power. He has since won several international awards with his evocative and compelling series and is looking forward to a growing interest from international collectors.

Driven by personal experiences, his themes often deal with vulnerable human existence and behavior in social interactions and affective relationships. He believes in the beauty of being vulnerable and different. But is the latter still possible in a world dominated by artificiality? With an interest in psychology, Richard explores through photography which roles of individualism and collectivism influence our social interactions and relationships.