Why We Create — 04 Berber Theunissen
Why We Create is a series of five interviews with global photographers in an attempt to discover the deeper layer, drives, and motivation behind their work. We strive to bring forward the moment of realization, in which the meaningfulness of the profession is unveiled, leaving no doubt in the chosen path. In this collaboration with Open Doors Gallery, London, and the founder Tom Page we decided to speak with selected artists presented on the platform. Offering two perspectives, the photographer’s and Tom’s, who carefully chooses art to highlight, we gain a better understanding of what attracts a viewer in an image and why the specific moment becomes immortalized. Berber Theunissen is a photographer from The Netherlands. Her primary research focuses on the topics of
motherhood and nature. The landscapes through Berber’s lens evoke the feeling of the sublime. The awe coming from the beauty of the particular moment and a specific place, probably never seen before, merges with the understanding of the grandiosity of the location. In her work, Berber manages to portray a deep level of emotion, when the sudden ray of light pierces through the composition, or when the curtain on the subject’s experiences is slightly revealed. Profoundly honest in her photographs and our conversation, Berber allows us to learn about her drive to create, the path of becoming through the insecurities, and the workshop from Sarah Mei Herman, which became an event that shaped her photographic perspective.
In collaboration with Open Doors Gallery
@odtakeovers @odprintsales
The photographs we discuss in the interview are also available as prints in the Open Doors Gallery website.
In this interview, we speak with Berber about one of the main themes in her work, motherhood, and touch on the intrinsic changes in the professional and personal spheres that followed entering the new stage of becoming a mother. As Berber explains, “My work is so deeply personal that it was only natural that motherhood became a huge part of it.” We discuss window portraits of fresh moms with newborns, and her iconic prints Atomic Punk and US sunset.
Saatchi Gallery
Which was the most memorable exhibition, in the Open Doors Gallery, in which Berber Theunissen took part? Could you walk us through the process of printing the images by the artist?
We have been lucky enough to exhibit lots of Berber's work over the years. They never fail to fix people's gaze and catch their imaginations. Especially in the large size. I think the exhibition I remember the most was our booth at Saatchi Gallery, London, a few years ago. We showed three large pieces in simple thin white metal frames with lots of space between each work. They looked great as a trio.
As with all our artists, the prints are the responsibility of the artist. We can advise if they have less experience, but essentially the print is the final hurdle in the creative process. So it's natural that the artist should want to be fully invested in the physical manifestation of their work. Particularly with someone like Berber, who works tirelessly to capture these remarkably sensitive and awe-inspiring images for us. It would be a shame if the prints didn't represent those moments. Berber works with a brilliant lab in Amsterdam, Fotolab, to produce her stunning prints. There is a chalky almost dustiness to her inkjet prints that adds to the fragility of her portraits. The marriage between the final print and the subject matter is so important. Berber has got that just right.
— Tom Page, Founder and Director of the Open Doors
‘Photography-wise, I’m not only a motherhood photographer, and personally, I’m more than just a mom. I kind of long back to before I was a mom, but that ain’t possible (couldn’t miss Buddy though).’
Why We Create?
Hi Berber, how is this year wrapping up for you? What are you currently working on?
Hi there, thank you for having me. Photography wise it has been kind of a strange year, a search of which direction I want to go. In 2018, I became a mom, something that had a huge impact on my life and my work. My work is so deeply personal that it was only natural that motherhood became a huge part of it. As Buddy, my son, is getting older, it doesn’t feel right anymore that he is my main subject. Especially now, when he turned two, I really have the feeling that I have to respect his privacy and that I need to protect him more and more.
Of course, I still photograph him and us together a lot. But I think the photographs will be stuck in the archive until I have cleared my head about this topic. Due to my personal work about motherhood, I also did get a lot of assignments. Fresh moms who want me to capture their love for their (yet to be born) child. Suddenly I had this whole motherhood image around me. It feels a bit if I’m in the middle of an ID crisis online and offline. Photography-wise, I’m not only a motherhood photographer, and personally, I’m more than just a mom. I kind of long back to before I was a mom, but that ain’t possible (couldn’t miss Buddy though). So I have to find a way to make things work again for me, going back to my essence.
2020, besides Covid, was also a weird year. In the same week as our first lockdown in March, someone I deeply love had some insecurities about his health. While Covid felt like a distraction for us, we also experienced how it f*cked up the health care system. Luckily six months later, everything turned out well. But during those months, everything felt like it was falling apart. It was so incredibly stressful. I really couldn’t get my mind set on photography.
Normally, traveling is a way for me to cope with my struggles. Exploring new landscapes makes me contemplate my experiences of life. Because of Covid – of course - we weren’t able to travel. So my family and I went on a small getaway in November to a Dutch Island. I have to say it was mind blowing. The weather sucked. There was nobody there; I didn’t know it was even possible to experience the middle of nowhere feeling in the Netherlands. It also made me realize that we don’t have to travel overseas to feel the beauty of nature. So I’m working out a plan to explore the Netherlands and capture all the beauty of it. Often it is easier to experience the amazingness at new places than at the places you already know.
Researching the self, the body, the skin through self-portraiture, then going back to reflect on the images you created, what do you feel you have learned about yourself? How did this experience help you develop new understandings comparing the person in the photo with the feelings and thoughts you had while creating it?
That I am worth it. Okay, that feels a bit like a L’Oreal campaign. But it’s true. I have felt insecure for a very, very long time. Physically but also mentally. I was always a strange one. I haven’t felt understood. Sometimes it was really confronting seeing photos/self-portraits again. Sometimes I notice something in the eyes or energy I wasn’t aware of at that time. But it isn’t about a single photo. It is about the whole package. Over the years, growing older, becoming a mother, I feel more grounded than ever. I have captured a lot of important phases in my life, and those phases shaped me into who I am today.
‘Before Covid, I often took window portraits during shoots. When the first lockdown popped up, and the first shoots got cancelled, I thought, let’s continue with this one.’
What, in your opinion, is the most profound emotion that you experience, which drives you to continue working on projects and create?
I guess it is frustration. When I can’t put my head around something. Sometimes it is sadness, knowing things won’t last forever... when time is slipping by.
During the unexpected and strange period of 2020, artists have been rethinking their work and statements. You have recently launched a project, creating portraits of people from behind their windows, a covid-proof approach, which slightly shifts the angle capturing the subject. How does this approach affect the connection created during the shoot from a personal perspective or impact the end-result?
Before Covid, I often took window portraits during shoots. When the first lockdown popped up, and the first shoots got cancelled, I thought, let’s continue with this one. It totally isn’t profitable, but it keeps me photographing and staying connected.
I shoot everything with a Pentax 6x7, a camera that can be pretty impressive. It always takes some time/coffee for people to feel comfortable with the camera. With the glass between us, the camera seems less of a distraction. They don’t hear the hard click. They are sooner in a relaxed vibe. With my hand, I give small directions.
‘At one point, we got a workshop from Sarah Mei Herman; she made us shoot very personal works. It was very confronting, but also very interesting. Suddenly, it went beyond just creating a beautiful image’
What are the two episodes you can share with us, which were the breakthroughs for you in the realization of your voice and vision - of becoming an artist, a photographer?
When I started studying at the Photo Academy in Amsterdam, I really liked photography, but there wasn’t any depth to it yet. At one point, we got a workshop from Sarah Mei Herman; she made us shoot very personal works. It was very confronting, but also very interesting. Suddenly, it went beyond just creating a beautiful image; it was about peeling layers and going deeper and deeper. It touched me. It helped me process certain situations. I have continued in this way, and it is constantly evolving.
The second episode is, I guess when I bought my Pentax 6x7. Since then, I’ve been totally hooked up to medium format film. Every time I shoot 35mm, I miss something.
The images of landscapes such as Atomic Punk, 2017, and US Sunset are especially captivating due to the emotions they evoke with the viewer. The photos produce a sense of hope through creating a connection to the infinite and divine - the sublime. What is the memory you have from taking those images, being a part of nature, witnessing it?
Atomic Punk was taken during our honeymoon in 2017 at the Grand Canyon East Rim. We bought a ’77 street van in LA, and we traveled 7000 km with it. After the road trip, we shipped the van back to the Netherlands. When we were visiting the Grand Canyon, all the campgrounds were full. Our van also had some troubles, so our mood went totally the wrong way. Until a very nice lady guided us to the best campsite ever with this view over the grand canyon. It was just the two of us and the van. A few weeks before our wedding, I had a miscarriage. The road trip was also a way for me to process everything we went through. It was such an emotional rollercoaster, the grief, the wedding, the highs, and the lows. Suddenly there was this cloudburst, and it was a representation of all the previous emotions.
Two years later, we went back to The States together with our one-year-old son. On that trip, we were just so incredibly happy, the three of us. Living the slow life, sometimes it did hurt, knowing that it wouldn’t last forever. US Sunset was taken during the last days of our trip. We were on a campground, and there was a highway nearby, the daily life rush, we hoped we wouldn’t have to return to.
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