Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Silence Awareness Existence program / MARCH 2020
Sophie de Vos
Netherlands
www.sophiedevos.work
About
Sophie’s work consists of her fascination for what it means
to be human. Human nature, dealing with the passing of time,
transience, decay and loss are returning subjects in her work.
For human beings, these subjects are often emotionally
charged, while in nature they’re the most common thing
in the world. Sophie shows and questions this contrast in
her work by creating images in which the human body is
combined with natural materials. Words are an important
part of Sophie’s work as well, and this shows in her use of
titles. Her photographic series tell a story both visually and
through language.
Sophie’s artistic practice revolves mostly around photography
and works on paper, in which Sophie uses minimal visuals to
get to the essence of the subjects and issues at hand.
It feels like falling
During her residency Sophie created a series called ‘It feels
like falling’. The title is about both silence and existence,
referring to the question: If a tree falls in the forest and no
one is there to hear it, did it actually make a sound?
The images show fragile flowers, enclosed and therefore
preserved by ice. By touching and cherishing them, you will
simultaneously undo the preserving and thereby alter or
damage them.
The project refers to what trauma-specialists call ‘frozen
thoughts’ that cause traumatized people unable to access a
certain memory. This frozen quality complicates verbalization
and so the trauma remains to exist in silence.