Referencing the expulsion from the Garden of Eden the works of Henri van Noordenburg focus on overlaying a European aesthetic on the physical and intellectual landscape. Starting with self-portraits set amid a featureless black background, van Noordenburg slowly and meticulously hand-etches the photographic surface.
van Noordenburg describes the process of self-nude photography as an “incredible mix between strength and weakness, frustration and containment – a feeling of euphoria and adrenaline.” Feelings, which mirror van Noordenburg’s attempts to assimilate within a dominant foreign culture, where minority groups are often treated like second-class citizens. The central figure’s way back to the Garden, his continual search for belonging, is impeded by social and political frustration.
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition I to XI, etched photographic print, 212 cm x 318 cm framed, 2011
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition X, etched photographic print, 106 cm x 106 cm framed, 2012
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XVI, etched photographic print, 46 cm x 106 cm framed, 2012
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XVII, etched photographic print, 46 cm x 106 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XIX, etched photographic print, 50 cm x 50 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XXII, etched photographic print, 30 cm x 30 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XXVII, etched photographic print, 17.5 cm x 17.5 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XXVIII, etched photographic print, 17.5 cm x 17.5 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XXIX, etched photographic print, 17.5 cm x 17.5 cm framed, 2013
Henri van Noordenburg, Composition IX, etched photographic print, 106 cm x 106 cm, 2012, Queensland Centre for Photography Collection
Featured image: Henri van Noordenburg, Composition XXVII, ink on paper hand carved, 17.5 cm x 17.5 cm framed, 2013
