ISABELLA VAN MARLE

Generazione Critica: You are an independent curator working primarily with photography, and with many artists who explore and experiment with the boundaries of this medium. How did your interest in curating photography start? Were there any key experiences that shaped your practice as curator?

Isabella van Marle: When I started working at Unseen, I had the chance to work with many artists and galleries and discover various prevalent themes within contemporary photography. My main task was fulfilling the role of fair curator, and I think it was during this time that I especially enjoyed giving curatorial advice on which artists and works the participating galleries should bring to the fair.  After leaving Unseen in 2019, I started working independently as a curator and a creative consultant. In 2020, I then co-founded Pictures for Purpose. This way of working gives me the opportunity to work with photography on multiple levels and in different settings.

Funeral Flower man from the series Tomorrow City, 2020 © Olgac Bozalp

GC:  Being a curator puts you in contact with many young artists and new project spaces or galleries. What kind of work interests you in particular?

IvM: The variety within contemporary photography is enormous. I enjoy working with a broad spectrum of artists, all of whom have different views on and relationships with the medium. I am, for instance, attracted to conceptual photography and creative documentary projects by artists such as Bharat Sikka, Carmen Winant and Rahima Gambo. I’m also interested in artists who portray different identities in their photographs and whose work often floats between personal projects and commissioned work in a fashion context.

Equally I’m drawn to artists who aspire to overturn the normative standards or representations of photography. I admire the work of artists like Kyle Weeks and Olgaç Bozalp, of whom I’ve worked with in a range of contexts, and Deana Lawson. In their work they focus on the individual expressions of the people they portray and capture their subjects’ style, personality and aura in different parts of the world.

GC:  You were also part of many juries for photography festivals, awards and events. Last year you were the curator of Foto Tallinn. How have these experiences shaped your projects and artistic research?

IvM: Curating different projects, being part of juries and doing portfolio reviews has brought me a lot, in the sense that reviewing a wide range of photographic projects from across the globe teaches me about new perspectives. Furthermore, visiting photography festivals, fairs and exhibitions is often a great source of inspiration in discovering artists and prevalent thematics in photography.

GC:  One of your latest projects is “Pictures for Purpose”, a foundation that started in 2020 with the aim of raising proceeds and awareness for urgent causes through photography. This fundraiser has its core in the relation with social issues and dynamics, but it is also a way through which a wide audience can discover work by new and talented artists. How was the experience of bringing together these two aspects?

IvM: Pictures for Purpose was founded during the first Covid-19 lockdown in the Netherlands. It started as a creative effort by friends and artists to raise funds for the Dutch Foodbank, as well as to support the cultural sector at a time when exhibitions and creative projects were widely postponed or canceled. Our second edition then focused on the climate crisis, but more broadly the goal of our foundation is to generate financial support and awareness for urgent causes through the medium of photography. Apart from highlighting social issues, Pictures for Purpose is indeed a platform where people can discover the work of emerging artists alongside the established participating artists. I think it’s special that we’re able to work collaboratively with artists and the creative community to enact meaningful change whilst simultaneously offering affordable prints by both established and emerging artists to a large audience.

GC:  The latest edition of “Picture for purpose” was for Ukraine, how did it go? How do you relate, as a curator, to the contemporary tragic circumstances?

IvM: With another devastating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, we decided it was an appropriate moment to organize a third edition of our print sale fundraiser. With the print sale fundraiser we offered financial support to World Central Kitchen in Ukraine and to a number of artists who opted to receive a percentage of their print sales. In many cases, the artists we asked to donate a print towards this cause have a strong connection with the region. A number of the participants were born, raised, or based in Ukraine, whilst others have felt the reverberations of the crisis unfold in neighboring countries. Equally, some of the artists – including Rineke Dijkstra and Alec Soth – were invited to contribute specific works they created in Ukraine.

Beyond those with more overt connections to Ukraine, some of the invited artists simply wanted to join in support of our cause, many of whom offered images that speak to notions of solidarity, freedom and resistance. When selecting works, we wanted to reflect the great diversity of approaches and aesthetics that make up contemporary photography, as well as including works by both emerging and renowned artists. I believe that, now especially, photography and artists from the region can play an important role and should be given a platform to share their story. Despite the success of the fundraiser, the situation in Ukraine remains desperate. Our team was really humbled by what we have been able to achieve collectively, but there’s still much more to be done politically.

Stand with Ukraine, 2022 © Yang Ji Hoon

GC:  You also have a strong background as a fair curator. What do you think about the present scene of art fairs in Europe and beyond? What have been the key changes during the pandemic?

Ivm: The past two years have naturally reshaped the fair industry, with certain art fairs disappearing,  down-sizing or being taken over by (bigger) art fairs. Simultaneously fairs focussing on photography exclusively have grown exponentially in the past few years. Ten years ago, Unseen was established with the idea to dedicate a fair to contemporary artists exploring the boundaries of the medium, whilst in Paris, Approche hosts an annual salon show exclusively for cutting-edge photography. Furthermore, the introduction of a more contemporary section is a visible trend within photography fairs. Although most still offer a majority of vintage and modern photography, Paris Photo included their Curiosa section and the discovery section appeared at Photo London.

GC:  Do you think it is necessary to re-design the system of art-fair? What could be the innovation to follow in the following years for the art system?

IvM: International art fairs have quite a large carbon footprint. Running an art fair is thus in most cases detrimental for the environment, especially with galleries shipping works from all over the world. Yet, seeing artworks in the flesh is ultimately the optimal way of experiencing art. I do think something needs to change, and that more initiatives such as the Gallery Climate Coalition should be introduced. Art professionals, galleries and fair organizations should all take accountability and consciously rethink the art-fair systems in reducing carbon emissions and making it more environment friendly.

GC: On the topic of new trends and experiences, what new currents are visible within photographic practice today? Have you seen some changes in recent years?

IvM: At a time of profound change, in which questions of race, decolonialism, health and the climate crisis have received more attention, you can see that these ideas are increasingly visible in many artists’ work – whether it’s in a critical or a creative response, or a combination of both. Kristina Ollek’s interventions for instance examine the sea’s salinity – a growing issue in the Netherlands due to rising sea levels. Another artist I admire, Philip Montgomery, explores issues ranging from the opioid crisis to police violence in an American context, as well as the moments of joy and hope that these heavy issues sometimes obscure.

Another growing trend is for practitioners to assume a multifaceted approach. Artists continue to surprise me in the ways they assemble materials and experiment with various different media such as sound, installation, sculpture and film in their practices. Likewise, more and more artists manipulate our perceptions of space in two and three dimensions and experiment with space; photography can be far more than just a framed picture.

 GC:  Is there any new project you are working on? What are your next plans for the future?

IvM: I am currently based between Paris and Amsterdam and I’m glad to be working on several new projects, whilst also further developing the future of Pictures for Purpose. Pictures for Purpose has evolved into a platform that raises awareness through the medium of photography, so we’re currently looking into new ways of utilizing that platform…by hosting exhibitions for instance. Another project I’m working on is a collaboration with artist Olgaç Bozalp, who found an archive of a photo studio in his hometown of Konya, Turkey. The archive (comprising over 300,000 photographs) belonged to Hasan Behcet, dating back to 1917 and closed down by his son in law in 1991. It’s the first time I am working with an archive in this manner and we’re thrilled to be building a contemporary approach to this intriguing body of material.

09/06/2022

They breathe water. Bioaccumulation no.3- Acrylic Ostreoidea, from the series Filter feeders, double binds and other silicones, 2019 © Kristina Õllek