23 october 2026, Martine Bontjes
The studio of... Vivian Ammerlaan
During a hike through a glacial landscape in the Rocky Mountains, Vivian Ammerlaan came face to face with a family of grizzly bears. It was an encounter that shifted rapidly from wonder to fear and ultimately relief. In her new exhibition at Ballon Rouge, Ammerlaan explores how to capture the overwhelming beauty and unpredictability of nature. Using analogue photographic processes such as cyanotypes, chemigrams and collages, she creates images that evoke familiar places and memories, yet only exist in our own imagination.
‘Geduld van het landschap’ is on view at Ballon Rouge in Rotterdam until 7 November. Vivian Ammerlaan herself is there every Saturday.
Since when are you working from Schiedam? Why did you choose this location?
I moved into my studio at De Glasfabriek in Schiedam at the end of November 2023. Before that, I worked at the Huis van de Fotografie on Westersingel in Rotterdam. I was ready for a larger, independent workspace with more room to experiment.
My studio has lovely natural light, plenty of space and is close to home. There is also room to load and unload materials and artworks. And I have a beautiful view of the Schie.
Do you go to your studio every day? What does a typical working week look like for you?
I spend several days a week in my studio. I usually do computer work at home, so when I am in the studio, I can devote my time to working with materials and creating new work.
Since September, I have been taking a two year professional course in furniture making in Rotterdam. I want to explore how I can incorporate wood into my artistic practice. I am also at Ballon Rouge every Saturday during the opening hours of my exhibition ‘Geduld van het landschap’.
Vivian Ammerlaan, Waanplekken 135, 2026, Ballon RougeThe overwhelming power of nature plays an important role in your work. When did you last have such a sublime experience?
An experience that has stayed with me took place during a trip to the Rocky Mountains in North America in June 2025. On our first day in the United States, we went camping near a glacier park. We set off on a walk that kept getting longer because the landscape, with its flowering ferns and wildflowers, was so beautiful. Eventually, we reached an enormous waterfall whose spray reached us even from a distance. On the way back, we saw a deer and then a family of grizzly bears: a mother and her two cubs.
It was frightening, but the sight of the bears in the light of the setting sun, their fur glowing gold, was also incredibly beautiful. We backed away carefully and started running as soon as we were out of sight. It ended in hysterical laughter, an enormous release of adrenaline.
What has stayed with me most is the range of emotions you can experience in such a short time: wonder, fear and then relief. An experience like that is almost impossible to put into words. The landscapes of the Rocky Mountains continue to influence my work and were among the inspirations for my large cyanotypes.
You create landscapes that do not exist anywhere in reality, yet feel familiar. Where do you think that sense of recognition comes from?
I think it comes from our collective image of the landscape. We all have expectations of what a mountain, a valley or a distant horizon looks like, shaped by memories, photographs, films and stories.
In my studio, I build small landscapes using everyday materials such as paper, textiles and wood. Using photographic and analogue techniques, I transform them into landscapes that appear much larger than they really are. They feel familiar, yet they do not literally exist anywhere. I find it fascinating that, as a viewer, you can feel as though you have been somewhere before, even though that place does not exist. It creates space for your own memories and imagination.
Vivian Ammerlaan, Waanplekken 124, 2025, Ballon RougeCan you describe the kind of ‘waanplekken [illusory places]’ you want to create in your work?
With my ‘waanplekken [illusory places]’, I create fictional landscapes somewhere between reality and imagination. I want to make places where you can lose yourself, where your gaze is drawn towards the distance and you briefly feel as though you are in another world. I am drawn to the unknown and to places onto which you can project your own ideas and associations. They can evoke a sense of calm and freedom, but also something elusive or unsettling.
The term ‘illusory places’ refers to the illusion that emerges: you think you recognise something, but the longer you look, the more you realise that something doesn’t make sense. It is precisely in that uncertainty that space for the imagination opens up.
The title of your new exhibition is ‘Geduld van het landschap’. What interests you about the idea of time?
Time plays several roles in my work. I am increasingly working with analogue processes such as cyanotypes, chemigrams and collages, which depend on materials and chemical reactions that I cannot fully control. Sometimes I have to wait or try something again. Unexpected discolouration and imperfections can become important in their own right.
The title also refers to the landscape itself. A landscape can seem eternal and unchanging, even though it is constantly in motion. Some changes happen so slowly that you barely notice them, while others occur very quickly. I find these extremes fascinating: timelessness set against unpredictability and impermanence.
In my work, these different timescales come together. I try not to control everything, but leave room for whatever emerges during the creative process. You can set something in motion, but you also have to be patient and see where it takes you.
Vivian Ammerlaan, Waanplekken 104, 2025, Ballon RougeBesides landscapes, are there other things that feed your imagination, such as particular music, literature or films?
I am drawn to anything that evokes mountains: old photographs in encyclopaedias, works of art and films. Anything that awakens a longing for those places, I find interesting.
As I work, these external images recede into the background and my imagined places begin to take on a life of their own. At that point, I feel the influence of my earlier work more strongly. My work builds on itself in this way. What matters most to me are images and atmospheres that evoke a longing for an unknown place, rather than any specific source of inspiration.
What experiments have you explored in your new work?
In my new work, I am experimenting with different types of paper, ways of applying and drying the chemicals and combinations of tones. I am also exploring new ways of drying paper so it remains flat. This may seem like a small technical detail, but it affects the final result.
For some works, I am using a new framing method that leaves more space around the artwork. This means the grain of the wood in the frame plays a greater role. The experience of the work is shaped not only by the image itself, but also by the paper, its edges and the frame.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
At the moment, I am creating work on commission for various clients in the Netherlands and abroad. What I enjoy about this is that I can continue making work that is entirely my own, while knowing in advance that it will have a special destination. I hope this aspect of my artistic practice will continue to grow.
I have also started the professional course in furniture making in Rotterdam. I want to explore what wood can bring to my practice and how I might move from depicting landscapes to creating three dimensional work. I look forward to developing this new direction further and sharing what emerges from it.
Vivian Ammerlaan, Waanplekken 106, 2025, Ballon Rouge