26 november 2024, Flor Linckens
Zeeland as a diorama: the timeless landscapes of Jeroen Hofman
Until 7 December, Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen in Amsterdam presents 'Zeeland', an exhibition by Jeroen Hofman. The Dutch photographer is renowned for his distinctive working method: he almost always shoots from a cherry picker, elevated about twenty metres above the ground. This approach provides his images with an extraordinary perspective, transforming the landscape into a modern diorama where structures and details emerge that often remain hidden to the human eye.
At the same time, his work captures intricate details that invite viewers to study them up close. On Instagram, Hofman remarked, ”I sincerely wish you would be able to zoom in on Instagram, detail is everything”. His photography captures the colours, stillness, contrasts and monumentality of the landscape, in images that feel familiar yet offer an entirely new perspective.
Hofman is particularly interested in the ways humans interact with and shape their environments, reflecting on the complex relationship between humanity and nature — a relationship that sometimes resembles a struggle against water or the elements. He began his career documenting training grounds for the military, fire brigade and police in his series "Playground". His focus later shifted to other types of landscapes, such as urban parks (the gardens of city dwellers), ARTIS Zoo, the Belgian coastline and the Wadden Islands. According to Hofman, these landscapes hold a unique power to capture our imagination. His work has been influenced by Dutch Old Masters like Jacob van Ruisdael as well as contemporary photographers such as Hans van der Meer, Gregory Crewdson and Edward Burtynsky.
Hofman’s photographs are far from spontaneous. His practice is marked by extensive research using maps and Google Earth, along with on-site investigations to assess factors like ground stability and optimal light conditions. Capturing the perfect moment often requires hours of patience in his cherry picker. Using a high-resolution camera capable of recording up to 100 million pixels, Hofman achieves an astonishing level of detail that drones could never replicate.
In Zeeland, Hofman pays tribute to the beauty of the vast Dutch province, a region he rediscovered during the quiet of the COVID-19 pandemic while staying at a family cottage. This location holds a special place in his childhood memories. Through his photography, Hofman seeks to balance nature and industry, stillness and movement, sky and land in harmonious compositions. Elements such as the Zeeland Bridge, wind turbines and historic churches imbue his images with a timeless quality. As in his earlier projects, Hofman places the horizon centrally in his compositions, dividing the image into two nearly equal parts and creating a striking diorama-like effect. By returning over a period of four years, in every season and under various weather conditions, he captures fleeting moments where light and landscape align in perfect harmony. His new book Zeeland, published by Hannibal Books, was recently launched at Unseen.
Jeroen Hofman was born in Brabant in 1976 and studied photography at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. He has received numerous accolades, including two Silver Camera Awards and a LensCulture Critics' Choice Award. His work is part of collections such as the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been exhibited at institutions including the Fotomuseum Den Haag, the (Dutch) National Maritime Museum, the Amsterdam City Archives and Clervaux Cité de l’Image in Luxembourg.
