World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 507 - Nienke Elenbaas

World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 507 – Nienke Elenbaas

At the Photographers Art Fair in Loods 6 I saw intriguing photos by Nienke Elenbaas. In her free work she shows the complexity of human relationships. I spoke to her at the Barista Cafe in the Frederikstraat in The Hague.

She has done a lot of commissioned work and only a year and a half ago she made her first free series Crimson Glory | Under My Skin which was followed by the series Family Affairs. It resulted in a lot of recognition, acknowledgement and appreciation.

Japanese flag

Crimson is crimson red, the color of the circle in the Japanese flag is also called Crimson Glory. That red circle represents the sun. We see it return in works of the series. Nienke: “My grandfather, grandmother and father lived and worked in the Dutch East Indies. That was occupied by the Japanese in 1942. My grandfather was a prisoner of war in the Moluccas for 4 years. My father and his mother had to go to a women’s camp. When my father turned 10, he had to go to a boys’ camp; for the Japanese, you were considered a man when you turned 10. He was alone in the Bangkong boys’ camp. Willem Nijholt, the actor, was also there, together with his brother. My father was often ill.”

This resulted in strong memories and emotions in the family, traumas that continued to affect the next generations. Nienke: “How do these invisible legacies shape you? And are they always negative? Every generation gets a piece of it. Not only my father had undergone intense experiences, but also my mother. She had two stillborn children between my older brother and me. I was raised with a lot of fear, especially in my younger years, and had a special place in the family.”

Love and traumas

However, her father did not show any trace of the camp past. He was the epitome of calm. “My father was very balanced, a caring father, but of course he carried the hardships of the camp with him. We – as children – were not affected by it, psychologists did not understand it. He was a timber agent, he negotiated about timber with Russia, Sweden, Finland and Canada.”

Her mother, however, was burdened with fears and grief. “Trauma is not always negative for me, but with my mother it is more complicated. She was depressed and anxious, but always said that nothing was wrong. I always took care of my mother. ‘You have to make me happy’ she said. At her funeral I said ‘I never managed to make you feel how much I loved you’.

Now that both her parents are gone, there is more room to explore emotions. “That also helps me understand myself. And how traumas and love are formed. It is an invisible legacy. What do I pass on to my son and daughter? There is a negative image surrounding it; that is not how it feels to me. I hope that people do not experience my images as something very heavy.”

Weddings

Nienke started photography at the age of 21 when she received a camera from her parents. Her father had always taken a lot of photos and she learned a lot from him. At the age of 23 she attended the Photography School for a year and then various courses. She started recording weddings, not much later she started working for a modeling agency and for magazines. Important clients include the Emma Children’s Hospital, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and the Dutch government.

When she was 34 she got sick and was out of action for a few years. After a rehabilitation period of eight years she went back to work. She got assignments again and that went very well until corona came.

Photography started to flow again when she was asked to exhibit by gallery De Mess in Naarden in October 2022. I chose my father’s time in the Indies as inspiration. “People liked it. That gave me the incentive to continue. Then it rolled on.” She was nominated for the SO24 Award from DuPho, the professional association of professional photographers, and is now also a member.

Working method

Her working method is different from that of other photographers. She had hired a model for the series Family Affairs. See the photo of the lady in the yellow dress. The shooting session took place with a team around her. “I try to work well with the team and with the model. I think it is important to be non-directive and to give the model the feeling that she/he also has an input. I also think the interaction with the entire team is important. You can see that in the final result. The model of Mother & Daughter II has something inaccessible. She was a bit upset because she didn’t have a storyboard. That worked out well in the end because she was also able to put something of the relationship with her mother in my photo.”

Both series are not finished yet. She has enough material for both. They will again be layered works using various techniques.

Finally, what is her philosophy?

“I am always concerned with people’s emotions. I want to delve deeper into that by showing more layers in the representation – in photo or film – with a good balance between fiction and reality.”

No part of this article may be used for training AI, or for commercial purposes. Please contact the author. All works and photos are copyrighted.

Images

1)Mother & Daughter II, 2) Sakura, 3) Reversed Embrace, 4) Waiting For You, 5) Rise, 6) Resilience, 7) Muted, 8) Mother & Daughter I, 9) Dancing With You In My Mind, 10) So Brave

https://www.elenbaasfotografie.nl/
https://paf.photography/fotografen/nienke-elenbaas/
https://www.instagram.com/elenbaasfotografie/ https://www.npodoc.nl/documentaires/2024/12/bewogen-bewegen.html
https://inzaken.eu/2025/01/11/nienke-elenbaas-wil-dieper-doordringen-tot-de-emoties-van-mensen/