FOTODOK
Pondering the meaning of place
The École nationale supérieure de la photographie invites artists Tanja Engelberts (represented by Galerie Caroline O’Breen, Amsterdam), Sheng-Wen Lo, and Mathieu Asselin (represented by The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam) to talk about the projects they have been working on in the city of Arles since the 14th of February, 2022.
The exhibition space FOTODOK, Utrecht, and the newly launched art residency The Shelter, Arles, brought together makers in order to produce new site-specific works about the environmental agenda in Arles and its surrounding areas.
After a brief introduction of the initiative, the residency and the artists, the event will focus on the relations photographers establish with the places they create their projects in. In conversation with FOTODOK’s curator Daria Tuminas, Engelberts, Lo, and Asselin will reflect on working in different international locations and frameworks of art residencies; on establishing a sense of place as a “local” artist as opposed to a “visiting artist”; and on the differences between these positions in terms of optics, responses, and movement through the space. The conversation will be open to questions and comments from the audience, with whom the speakers will try to define different forms of experience and knowledge that connect artists working with photography to places.
This round table discussion will be interesting for those who are involved in working on projects related to specific locations or environmental issues more broadly; those who want to reflect on what an art residency experience is or can be; those who want to learn about the new art residency in Arles; or for those who are simply curious to hear from and meet the speakers.
The project is made possible thanks to the support of Gemeente Utrecht, Mondriaan Fonds, and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Paris.
Tanja Engelberts (1987, NL) lives and works in Den Haag, the Netherlands. In 2021, Engelberts finished her two-year-long residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. For the past four years she has worked on different projects concerning the offshore fossil fuel industry and particularly the changing North Sea landscape of oil and gas platforms that are disappearing. Through these projects she also examines our changing attitude toward this industry. In her artistic practice, she investigates what happens to processes that people set in motion, that have consequences that manifest themselves long after their demise. Engelberts graduated with a master’s in fine art from Chelsea College of the Arts, London after studying sculpture and monumental arts in both the Netherlands and Japan. Other artist in residencies and fellowship awards are, among others: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (CA), de Nederlansche Bank (NL), Stroom (NL), The Ucross Foundation (USA), Clifford Chance (UK), IK Foundation (NL), and Örö residency (FI).
Sheng-Wen Lo (1987, TW) lives and works in Leiden, the Netherlands. Lo’s works investigate the relationships between non-humans and contemporary society, often taking daily experiences as points of departure. His practice comprises still and moving images, installations, video games, escape rooms, and various other media. He received a master’s in photography from AKV St.Joost, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and a master’s of science in computer science from the Computer Music Lab at National Taiwan University, Taipei City. Lo is the creative director of Lightbox, a public photo library and a center for contemporary photography in Taipei.
During his residency in Europe, he facilitates connections between the Taiwanese and the international contemporary photography scene through talks, discussions, writings, and collaborations. Sheng is an alumnus from the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (2019–2021). His recent works were shown in Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam; EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam; World Press Photo, Amsterdam; BredaPhoto, Breda; LhGWR, The Hague, and Fotofestival Naarden, Naarden; ICP Museum, New York; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Seul; FORMAT Photo Festival, Derby; Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast; OrganVida Photo Festival, Zagreb; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; YUZ Museum, Shanghai; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; and the Taiwan Biennial at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung . He was selected as Foam Talent (2021), and has received fellowships from De Nederlandsche Bank, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, and Prince Claus Fund (2019).
Mathieu Asselin (1973, FR/VEN) lives and works in Arles, France. Asselin began his career working on film productions in Caracas, Venezuela, but shaped his photography practice in the United States. His work mainly consists of long-term investigative documentary projects, such as his latest book Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation, which received international acclaim, winning the Kassel FotoBook Festival Dummy Award in 2016, the Aperture Foundation First Book Award in 2017, and was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2018. Recent venues where his work has been exhibited include, among others : Les Rencontre d’Arles, Arles; Photographer’s Gallery, London; Fotomuseum Antwerp, Antwerp; and the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
From Down (2017) gps chest surface temperature sensor readings during Trollkjeldene hike © Sheg-Wen Lo
Artis zoo (2019) from Extendable ears (2019-2020) © Sheng-Wen Lo
Tanja Engelberts, Rijksakademie Open Studios (2021) © Sander Vanwettum
Treasure Finder © Tanja Engelberts
Monsanto book © Mathieu Asselin
