Art and fashion have always been best friends. For photographer Viviane Sassen, they are family, fused into an inseparable power duo. The Dutch photographer feels just as comfortable in the world of commercial fashion photography as she does when creating an abstract multi-material collage. The exhibition “Phosphor: Art & Fashion” at FOAM in Amsterdam presents a comprehensive retrospective of her work.
Bodies deform, melt into one another, rise up in oversize. Sharp shadows alternate with vibrant colors. And in between, the simplest portrait conveys the highest degree of intimacy. When you walk from the video installation to the photography and pass by the multidisciplinary collage, you might think you have just seen the work of different artists. Not in the case of the “Phosphor: Art & Fashion” exhibition. The works, as different as they may be, all bear the signature of Dutch photographer and artist Viviane Sassen. Multidimensionality is the essence of her work. Films run, sounds resound, brushes, cameras and scissors were all at work. She has made a name for herself as a fashion photographer, but can – and should – also write artist on her CV.
Her client list reads like the shopping list of the hippest It girl – Bottega Veneta, Jacquemus and Dior are just a tiny selection. Magazines such as i-D, Dazed and Purple are also queuing up for her. And yet Sassen’s work also offers plenty of scope for identification for all those who like the abstract and offbeat more than fashion.
Actually, Sassen’s focus was on fashion right from the start. Fashion studies came first, and only then did she train in photography at the Utrecht School of the Arts. To this day, her two passions for fashion and art are skillfully balanced. The aesthetics of fashion editorial resonate in her personal projects, while her artistic streak shines through in commercial commissions.
After more than three decades, it is high time to present Sassen’s extensive oeuvre in a retrospective. After last year’s MEP – maison européenne de la photographie in Paris adorned itself with art and fashion, FOAM in Amsterdam is now showing a comprehensive retrospective of over 200 works by the artist.
Sassen herself does not seek attention – she prefers to let her creations do the talking. And they have a lot to say. She dealt with her own body image early on with self-portraits. “Are we ever able to truly know someone, to truly know ourselves?” she asks in her series “Etan & Me”. There is no answer to this question. The best way to find out about the artist is to read the enigmatic descriptions of her numerous projects. Or if you simply look. And wait to see what the depicted intimacy, the bright colors and the thoughtful, spontaneous compositions trigger in you.
Criticism, controversy, art?
You can find controversy everywhere if you look hard enough. Whether you should do that is a completely different question. For example, voices have occasionally been raised criticizing Sassen’s portrayal of African people. In fact, it is predominantly black people who appear in Sassen’s work, especially in personal projects. Does she have too much power and control because, as a white person, she is the one holding the camera? In view of the fact that it is not uncommon for white photographers to not know how to properly stage and expose black skin, the questions seem justified. But not everything is always as it seems at first glance – this is not only referring to Sassen’s work, but also the reason why she likes African people in front of the camera. As a small child, Sassen lived in Kenya for three years. Her father was a doctor in a polio clinic. Isolated in the middle of nowhere, Sassen felt both foreign and at home on the distant continent. To this day, she is somewhere between a tourist and a local when she returns to her foreign homeland. And this is reflected in her work. When Sassen does speak about it, she focuses on her private life. She is concerned with her unique private connection to Africa, which stems directly from her childhood. She could not imagine her life without Africa, she once told blind magazine. As a result, there is no stereotypical depiction of Africa in her pictures. Her subjects are everyday people, staged in an artistic way. Even if you know nothing about the photographs, you can sense that there is a personal connection between photographer and subject.
Sassen brings her own emotions to each of her works and yet manages to remain a little mystical, a little unattainable. In the world of art and photography, people like to divide and categorize. If you photograph advertising, you are no longer considered an artist, if you create something too abstract, you no longer fit into the mainstream. “The ordinary and the magical merge” is how Sassen describes her “Heliotrope” series. This actually describes her entire oeuvre. She breathes magic into ordinary everyday moments and objects. Anyone working their way through the 200 exhibited works will understand what she emphasized to the British Journal of Photography: she doesn’t like to repeat herself. And that is precisely why Viviane Sassen unites everyone: art lovers in search of the abstract, brush-wielding painters, fashionistas and photographers. The best thing about it? Everyone sees something different.
FOAM: Viviane Sassen – Phosphor: Art & Fashion
Portrait, collage or fashion photography? All at once and by the same artist, please. This is exactly what you can see at FOAM in Amsterdam. “Phosphor: Art & Fashion” shows a captivating mix of Viviane Sassen’s personal and commercial projects from the last thirty years.
FOAM: Viviane Sassen – Phosphor: Art & Fashion
September 21, 2024 – January 12, 2025
FOAM, Keizersgracht 609, Amsterdam
foam.org
vivianesassen.com
Lydia Roberts also merges art forms. Her creative outlets are photography and painting.
You can find out more about Viviane Sassen’s exhibition at FOAM here.
Photos: © Viviane Sassen
