Awoiska van der Molen – The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves

From outside to inside

Van der Molen stumbled upon the windows during a trip through Japan, where small houses are built from a range of materials using traditional methods. The walls there are thin because of the mild climate. Nevertheless, she was struck by the fact that, apart from the sound of the TV, of soft stockinged feet on hollow floors or of rumblings from the kitchen, all you could hear was the monotonous air conditioning. No heated discussions, no loud laughter, no free noises. This was the beginning of many journeys through Japan and of her quest to find out why she finds these windows so intriguing.

From a distance, the photographer becomes aware that daily life is taking place behind the windows without it actually revealing itself. The windows reveal interesting surface distributions in black-white-grey nuances, and that shadow play introduces mystery in things because the opaque matt glass of the windows conceals the world inside from the viewer subtly but resolutely.

The introduction of carbon prints

For her, the darkroom is the place where she once again and slowly permits her images to emerge, weeks after she pressed the shutter release button. For her show in Huis Marseille, Van der Molen has selected, in addition to her acclaimed silver gelatin prints, a new technical procedure especially for the illuminated windows. For the first time she is using the 19th-century process of the carbon print. Originally carried out using lampblack (paint pigment), it is still one of the most durable printing techniques. Because of the intensity of the black, which is applied in a thin layer on the paper, the technique is most appropriate for the shadow play that is so important in the photographs. The carbon print technique is hardly ever used now because it is so labour intensive. However, the illuminated windows call for a patient look that takes its time to let the image sink in, for both the photographer and its viewer.