Profile

Born in 1971 in Alphen aan den Rijn, Aafke made her first pictures with an old Olympus Trip 35 that used to belong to her grandfather. After first working in the Communications Industry, she managed to create a job out of her passion and finished the Photo Academy Amsterdam in 2006.
Since then she worked on her own projects, and exposed her work for example at Noorderlicht in 2006, but also worked on assignments for magazines as Elle and Quote or the Department of Justice.

The situations being real - but somewhat staged to create the perfect setting, styling & atmosphere - her photos can best be described as staged narrative work. In 2007 her work was nominated for the PANL Award in the Category People & Portraits, and granted silver.

Statement

My main interest is trying to reveal universal concepts like love, loneliness, misunderstanding, desire and fear, by observing myself in everyday situations. Instead of ridiculing or criticizing other people I try to show my own life as it is, hoping that the viewer can relate to it.

 

Education

Masterclass Morad Bouchakour, 2007
Masterclass Wendelien Daan, 2006
Creative Photographer, Photo Academy Amsterdam 2001 - 2006
Arts & Language Studies, University of Utrecht 1991 - 1997

Nominations & awards

AWARD: Silver, Category uncommissioned People & Portraits, PANL 2007
NOMINATION: Category uncommissioned People& Portraits, PANL 2007

Exhibitions

UtrechtseNIEUWE, City Hall, Utrecht 2008
Stand der dingen, Flipside Gallery, Eindhoven 2007
De Toren van Babel, Utrecht 2006
Noorderlicht Fotomanifestatie, Leeuwarden 2006
Sotheby’s, Amsterdam 2006

Publications

PANL 2007 #16

Experience

Independent photographer since 2004-
Working as a illustrative / portrait / landscape / autonomous photographer for different clients and magazines a.o. Elle Magazine, Quote Magazine, T-Mobile, Ministerie van Justitie, Rijksoverheid, Stichting SURFnet, GVU, RINO

Teacher, College of Journalism & Communication, Utrecht 2007-2008
Teaching Communication & Information at Digital Studies

Web designer, Web editor, communication specialist between 1997-2004
Before becoming a photographer worked in the Communications Industry

Teacher Academy of Fine Art, Utrecht 1998
Teaching Communication & Information at Digital Media Design