Unfolding Ambiguity features a selection from Richard Westerhuis' conceptual portrait series. "The best way to get my message across is not with a single photograph, but with a series. A whole series around one underlying theme ensures that the message is the most powerful," Westerhuis said. The photographic artworks in this online exhibition are just a sampling of Westerhuis's work. The entire series will be on display later in 2021 in the book of the same name, Unfolding Ambiguity.
The title of this exhibition and the book were not chosen by accident: Unfolding Ambiguity is a central theme in Westerhuis's work. He is driven to test the discomfort we encounter when we (have to) show who we really are, when we come face to face with our true selves. In his work, Westerhuis strives to lift the veil between the assumed identity and the true self. This leads to images in which a certain discharge, a state of freedom, is central. "The primary goal of my conceptual art is to find that moment of discharge. To capture that moment when a model lets go of the assumed identity with my camera. That's when I record their true vulnerability and openness," Westerhuis said.
To achieve this state of release and liberation, he lures his models out of their comfort zones with what he calls "dramatizing elements," creating a conflict between the models' assumed identities and their true selves. A process that provides a continuous stream of unexpected and beautiful perspectives to capture. In the photo series in this online exhibition, the viewer will encounter several of these dramatizing elements.
In this exhibition you will get a look at the photo series Rubber Identity, Whanganui, Powerful Fragility, Through the Second Skin, Perpetual Stillness, Coloured People, Back Buttocks Stool, Bottom Up and Autism. Click on 'WORKS' at the top right to go to the exhibition. The book Unfolding Ambiguity will be available through this website beginning in 2021. Want to stay up to date on the release date? Follow Richard Westerhuis on Instagram or LinkedIn.
