The exhibition Het Romantische Landschap breathes new life into an older theme, but there is also room for a new understanding of the Romantic representation of nature. The first work you encounter in the exhibition space of Noorderlicht is that of German Ekaterina Sevrouk. She began making a photo series entitled ‘I came as a stranger’ in 2015, for which she photographed male refugees from Africa. The photos were mainly shot in Salzkammergut in Austria. In her work, she positions the individual opposite nature, something reminiscent of the Romantic painters. It can be seen, for example, in Landscape with Wanderer (1830) by Thomas Fearnley. Also, one of her works is reminiscent of Morning Mist in the Mountains (1808) by Caspar David Friedrich: both Friedrich's work and Sevrouk's photograph feature a crucifix in a foggy setting.
A little further down, in a separate corridor, hang the small photographs of Laura Zwaneveld. She sold her house in Rotterdam in 2012, after living there for 48 years, to settle in Friesland. She now takes pictures of the vast, empty, changing landscape of the Wadden Sea.
Back in the main space of Noorderlicht are works by Jeroen Toirkens. For the project Borealis, which he created with journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius, he photographed trees in the boreal zone. Together, the photographer and journalist went in search of the stories of the people in these forests. The way the ‘lungs of the earth’ are depicted is reminiscent of some of the works now on display at the Groninger Museum: for example, take a look at Jens Juel's View from Veyrier across Lake Geneva towards the Jura Mountains (1779).
The fourth artist to be featured is Daimon Xanthopoulos. His work has more in common with spiritual and religious in Romanticism, to which an entire room is devoted in the Groninger Museum. In the project Faith (2016), he plays off faith and spirituality in a personal way. By taking photographs at historical, European locations known from mythology or conviction, Xanthopoulos attempts to reflect the feeling and atmosphere of the places, people and beliefs depicted.
In a separate room, the work of British Fleur Olby is on display. Her dark photographs are accompanied by a recording of a female voice speaking to the viewer. She grew up in the Yorkshire countryside, and there she acquired a love of nature that is now the basis for her art. Her works are dark purple and black, and it takes a while to see what is depicted.
Finally, the work of Irish Paul Gaffney leads you back to the exit of the building. Gaffney took pictures of trees and branches in both sunlight and moonlight. His photographs play on a certain layering of the forest landscape. The landscapes immerse the viewer in a different world.
The exhibition Het Romantische Landschap will be on display until 21 March at Noorderlicht photo gallery.
Are you also curious about the exhibition that Het Romantische Landschap was inspired by? De Romantiek in het Noorden - From Friedrich to Turner will be on display until 6 May at the Groninger Museum.
Text: Iris Rijnsewijn
Image: Ekaterina Sevrouk, Daimon Xanthopoulos