Astrid Verhoef’s Abstract Series Probes Our Relationship With Nature

In visual art, the term inscape is a linguistic blend of the words interior (or inward), and landscape. In Verhoef’s case, this conceptual series conveys the photographer’s psyche as a type of interior landscape, where she questions her connection to nature through surrealist imagery. The series depicts staged scenes of either one or two women posing in isolated landscapes, in an almost humorous manner that is out of context to their stark surroundings. In doing this, Verhoef aims to “reveal emotions that arise from the subconscious”. By placing individuals and objects “where they don’t seem to belong”, Verhoef recontextualizes normality. The series will be exhibited at the Eduard Planting Gallery in Amsterdam until March 9, 2019. A statement from the gallery says that “In modern-day urban life, the difference between being connected and feeling connected has become an interesting distinction, especially in a world where the reliance on social technology is growing. This poses an interesting challenge, not only in the depth of connection to other people, but possibly even more in our connection to the natural world and to oneself.”