Annaleen Louwes

The enclosed space of De Moeren was the starting point for the work: a place where outside light penetrates only sparingly, and where dust, cobwebs, shadows and silence acquire a presence of their own.—For Louwes, De Moeren became an improvised dark room, in which she explored what photography can capture when light is scarce. Using simple means – daylight, torches, reflections and flash – she searched for images that arise from the seclusion of the space itself. In this way, the barn becomes not only a workplace but also a mental space: somewhere to slow down, to look, and to dwell on what usually remains invisible.—Inspired by the darkness, On sorrow explores the tension between presence and absence, memory and loss. In the silence of the barn, Louwes encounters herself and follows the traces of that which is present yet ordinarily eludes our sight. What appears when the dark is not banished, but allowed in? The result is an intimate study of the image – one that not only reveals but also sustains.