De Mix – Ritme in de Polder

‘Ritme in de polder’ [transl. Rhythm in the polder] is the third in a series of exhibitions by De Mix in cooperation with NS, ProRail and Kunstlinie. The exhibition can be seen in Almere (the Netherlands) at the Kunstlinie and simultaneously in and around the railway station Almere Centrum.

DUO EXHIBITION GER DEKKERS AND PAUL BROUNS
Starting point for the exhibition was to make a personal selection of the work of Ger Dekkers (1929 – 2020) in the archives of the Nederlands Fotomuseum (Dutch Photo museum) in Rotterdam. To this beautiful work, I responded with a new collection of photographic work, all made in the province of Flevoland.

A LABYRINTH OF DISCOVERY
The exhibition at Kunstlinie turned out to be an engaging journey of discovery for the visitors. It ranges from the rhythmic landscapes by Ger Dekkers to the urban geometrical architecture work by myself. It is very satisfying to the eyes to see how well the work matches. Especially the installation at Kunstlinie adds to the experience because of its labyrinthian layout.

GER DEKKERS
The Dutch man-made landscape of the polder occupies a central place in Dekkers’ work. The polder is a piece of land that used to be open sea or lake and was designed to be made into dry land for housing and agriculture. The province of Flevoland is entirely created out of polders and this new land with vast open spaces and far horizons were the ideal playground for Ger Dekkers. He created images that consist of photographic sequences. In each part the point of view of the landscape is changed slightly, similar to the frames of a video. The result of this meticulous method of working is a surprising rhythmic body of work with subjects like polders, dikes, ditches and bulb fields.

MY PHOTOGRAPHS IN FLEVOLAND
The photographic work I created for this project led me to many different locations in the province. With Ger Dekkers’ concept of sequences in mind I took a fresh look at my way of watching architecture. In most of my work the sequential rhythm takes place within each composition from the repetition of the windows and other architectural elements. In some images the flatness of a facade attributes all attention to the geometrical beauty within the surface. At other times I photograph along the lines of perspective into the depth. And I also experimented more literally with Ger Dekkers’ way of creation when I went step by step around a corner of a building – intended as a special tribute to him.

DE MIX NETHERLANDS
12 museums, 12 railway stations, 12 cities, that is De Mix. In each of the 12 Dutch provinces De Mix organizes a duo exhibition in which historical photo collections are a source of inspiration for contemporary photographers.
> More information (in Dutch)
> Instagram

OTHER LOCATIONS & WALKING ROUTE
The exhibition can be seen at Kunstlinie and simultaneously at Station Almere Centrum. At the station there are two places: in the entrance hall inside of the station (until 31.01.2023) and on the outside windows (North side near bus platform). Additionally there is a walking route through the center that features several photo spots I used for my work. The folder of this route is freely available at the the ticket office of Kunstlinie or it can be downloaded right here:
> Download Walking Route Paul Brouns
> 3D Impression of the expo

 

Kunstlinie Almere
Esplanade 10
1315 TA Almere
The Netherlands

Exhibition Stadsforum
09.12.2022 – 09.04.2023 (Free Access)
Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 – 17:00
Also open in the evening during theatre performances
> Kunstlinie website (in Dutch)