Scarlett Hooft GraaflandSeptember 10, 2011 / December 11, 2011

 ‘Sometimes I just get an idea, and if I think it’s really good then I have to make it happen, whatever it takes’

Scarlett Hooft Graafland is a sculptor and photographer. Her first ever large solo retrospective, held in Huis Marseille, presents her photographs of majestic landscapes – in China, on the salt flats of Bolivia, the Arctic plains of northern Canada, and the lava fields of Iceland. Her compositions make subtle use of ‘soft’ materials like balls, balloons, fluids and pigments, as well as the participation of the local people and, on occasion, animals. Her props are short-lived and do not disturb the landscape in any way; they are almost insignificant when compared to the overwhelming spaces of the landscapes in which she works. But the perspective that Scarlett Hooft Graafland’s imagination brings to bear on these vast spaces brings images to life which are as playful as they are succinct.

In combination with these unexpected elements, the landscape takes on a new dimension. Two bare legs poke out from under a polar bear skin in the icy cold of the polar circle, curl around the prickly trunk of a giant Bolivian cactus, or drape over the roof ridge of a small house in the middle of an Icelandic lava field. Magical effects are also achieved through the use of colour: an igloo is turned a lollipop orange-red, and a carpet of paprika appears on the sweeping salt fields. Some of the works make subtle reference to art history: Bolivian bowler hats suspended along a fishing line above a geyser evoke Magritte, balloons floating on water are a featherweight remake of Spiral Jetty, and a snow pyramid circled with rope is almost Arte Povera. More frequently, though, her images arise from her clear social engagement and her deep concern for the natural environment. Using drawings and sign language, she directs the process that shapes her temporary monument of, and to, these local communities. Scarlett Hooft Graafland masterfully captures the essence of their arduous lives in clear, poetic, and expressive visual statements.

In brief: Scarlett Hooft Graafland (1973, Maarn) graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 1999 in the Autonomous Textiles monumental arts programme. She then completed postgraduate studies in Belzalel, Jerusalem and a Master’s in sculpture in Parsons, New York. She has since become an internationally acclaimed photographer with numerous exhibitions, prizes and nominations to her name.

Simultaneously with the opening of the exhibition the publication Scarlett Hooft Graafland, Soft Horizons will appear (Kehrer Verlag, 2011). The publication will be available at the shop of Huis Marseille during the exhibition.

Polar Bear, Igloolik Series, Canada, 2007-2008
Scarlett Hooft Graafland

Vanishing Traces, Soft Horizons Series, 2006-2007
Scarlett Hooft Graafland

Sweating Sweethearts, Salt Works Series, Bolivia, 2004
Scarlett Hooft Graafland

'Balloon Line', Bolivia, 2007 (performance with / met Gastón Ugalde
Scarlett Hooft Graafland

Red Mill, Dutch Landscape Series, 2010
Scarlett Hooft Graafland