Come Home
Featuring Sander Coers Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
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Come Home — through Sander Coers' introduction — is “a visual study of the masculine 'lovescape'.” It is research that aims to discover the intrinsic interpretation of love and intimacy by young people in their 20s. Sunkissed skin, the azure color of the sea becomes a frame to a summer getaway that consists of fun moments and deep reflection. Through conversation and interviews, Sander comes to terms with answers to questions that preoccupied him. The quest is to reveal the hardships that deal with a definition of masculinity and the stereotypes of gender through the prism of the main question — what does love look like.
Sander Coers is a Rotterdam-based photographer represented by Underpromise Agency. He was born in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, a part of Zeeland in the south of The Netherlands. Sander explains the crave for nature that defines his work today, “whenever I’m outside of the city, my creativity starts flowing, and I feel like I must create.” Come Home is a graduation project towards finalizing the BA in Photography from Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, NL. It will be released in a book format, of 100 copies, 112 pages. Sander has recently received a nomination from the Rabobank Portrait Prize Talent 2021, presented his work in Contour Gallery, Rotterdam, and has been selected for Best of Graduates 2021 by Galerie Ron Mandos where he was awarded the Photo Talent Award.
Publication Details
Pages: 112 Format: Softcover Size: 25 x 30 cm Edition: 100
‘I’ve always been fascinated by memories and the experience of growing up. So I started asking young men about their youth.’
Hi Sander, first of all, congratulations on the release of your book Come Home! This is a graduation project, which is also the end of the journey and symbolic of the new beginning. Could you tell about the theme you chose for the book and the process of working on it?
Hello, thank you! It’s nice to talk to you again. So, I kind of began working on the project back in 2019. I didn’t know at the time that the photos I took of Jens in Spain would be the starting point of my graduation project. As I was going through my archive for inspiration, which is something I often do, I noticed myself going back to these photos a lot and felt compelled to expand the story with new narratives.
I’ve always been fascinated by memories and the experience of growing up. So I started asking young men about their youth: what it means to come of age in a certain place, if they felt like they could express themselves freely (something I felt like I couldn’t always do), and the experience of the transition from boy to man.
Through these stories and my own memories, I tried to create an alternate reality, in which I explore young masculinity in a warm and sultry way. With symbols from my youth and other elements like flowers, the sea, and highly saturated colours I hope to immerse the viewer into this world.
The natural element is juxtaposed to the personal stories of the characters you present in the book. The fresh breeze of the sea, summer freedom of the vacation, the softness of the flowers, the saturated color of the sun lighting the objects in frames all come to emphasize life, learning, and experiences. What did you discover during this trip on the personal and professional levels?
I live in Rotterdam, which is quite an industrial city, renowned for its modern architecture. Living there sometimes makes me feel trapped or boxed in. So, whenever I’m outside of the city, my creativity starts flowing, and I feel like I must create. Being born in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, one of Zeelands’ islands in the south of The Netherlands, having a natural element in my work is essential to me.
Because of this necessity to get out of the city to be able to create work, I want to move as soon as possible. Maybe do a residency somewhere or work on a project in a place that inspires me. Staying in one place is not something that speaks to me.
‘I’ve probably spent more hours than I should in InDesign. But this version is the one that felt most natural to me.’
‘I think that wanting to change things constantly is inherent to being an artist.’
Let’s speak about the technical side of creating a book, working on selecting the images, the design, and the print. What were some of the decisions you had to make, and which challenges you had while working on the print edition?
Creating a book is definitely more challenging than I thought. I graduated in January with a dummy version of ten copies. Immediately after receiving the printed books, I started thinking about what changes I could make to get the narrative clearer, to make it more appealing aesthetically. Also, the balance between image and text is much more present in this final version.
I worked with a designer for the dummy but for this one, I did the design myself. That was quite difficult but also a lot of fun. Having doubts is something that’s not strange to me, so there are about twenty different PDFs on my computer. I’ve probably spent more hours than I should in InDesign. But this version is the one that felt most natural to me.
Selecting 60 photos from over 1000 is hard, and I had to kill a lot of darlings. I started out with a very clear thing in mind, but over time that changed, and some photos that were crucial to me, in the beginning, ended up on the outtake-pile. The process of selecting took place over a long period of time and is still going on in my mind. I think that wanting to change things constantly is inherent to being an artist.
Where can one get their copy of Come Home?
From mid-September on, the book is available for purchase through me and selected art bookstores in The Netherlands. The price is €40 (signed & including shipping in The Netherlands). Shipping within Europe is €15.
