The Hosts of Houthavens

2024

My first encounter with Houthavens occurred in November 2014, shortly after moving from France to Spaarndammerstraat. At that time, Houthavens was a vast construction site, on which large machines were building artificial islands. Despite the radical changes taking place, some elements of the area’s past as a timber harbor were still present. This led me to question the relationship the future Houthavens will keep with its history.

The first chapter in this body of work deals with the emergence of newly constructed buildings and their relationship with existing spaces. The black & white, grainy and “archival” aesthetic of the series was chosen to emphasize the historical character of the district and used to blur the line between the new and the old elements of each composition. To achieve such a result, the photos were taken with a Konica Hexar analog camera from the 90s, together with Ilford HP5 Plus ISO 400 films.

The second subject explored in this body of work is the material concrete.
My interest in that material comes from the fact that in the 1950s, the use of concrete piles instead of wooden piles reduced the activity of the harbor and led to its transformation into a residential area. One could say that concrete was responsible for the downfall of the houthavens yet it was also used to rebuild it. This series explores the ambivalence of its role by portraying its beauty, smoothness, symmetry and destructive power.

The third subject explored is the dialogue between the boats and their water reflection. I asked myself: If places had a spirit, where would we find the spirit of the Houthavens?
Following that train of thought, It became clear that the constant link between the past and the future of Houthavens is its boats and its water. The photographs taken of these two elements constitute an attempt to catch the soul inherent to Houthavens. A soul which transcends time and structure.

These three personal interpretations question our perception of constructed spaces, their relationship with history and explore the idea of spirit (or soul) of the places in which we live.