Elizabeth Alderliesten (Dutch, 1972) is a Dutch artist and her main medium is analog photography. She currently lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
FRESH EYES Photo selected her as one of the 100 greatest emerging photography talents in Europe of 2020, she is featured on one of the four covers of the yearbook. She is also included in GUP New Photo Talent yearbook 2020.
She attends the year-long Photobook Workshop with Nearest Truth this year. In 2022 she participated in a workshop with Dirk Braeckman and Brad Feuerhelm in Athens. From 2020 until 2022 she attended Le Masterklass with Klavdij Sluban in Paris. In 2019 she followed an Masterclass with Machiel Botman in Amsterdam. She graduated from the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam in 2019.
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my latest work, I explore the essence of womanhood and the journey towards embracing one's authentic self. In her book, 'Women Who Run With the Wolves,' American Jungian psychologist and author Clarissa Pinkola Estes suggests that women, akin to wolves, possess an innate wildness or instinctual nature often suppressed or overlooked due to societal expectations and constraints imposed upon them during upbringing. Consequently, women may find themselves confined to roles that obscure their true essence. The capacity to adapt to external influences, encompassing various social circumstances, necessitates a perpetual metamorphosis of human existence. Reconnecting with one's instinctual nature becomes an ongoing pursuit, acknowledging that without darkness, there can be no light, and vice versa.
The subjects within my photographs symbolize this perpetual struggle between change and adaptation. Through delving into the complexity of a woman's dual nature—as both autonomous and nurturing—I seek to reestablish a connection with her untamed, genuine self, embracing the entirety of her being. I believe that by liberating themselves from societal expectations and constraints, women can reclaim their power, creativity, and vitality.
My photographs do not merely depict the external world but rather reflect my personal relationship with it and position in it. Each image encapsulates its own temporal and spatial dimensions, evoking a sense of poetic resonance that invites viewers to weave their own narratives. I am drawn to the transitional moments where uncertainty lingers, intrigued by the interplay between time and perception. Time serves as a pivotal element in both the capturing and printing processes. I am fascinated by the interval between the act of capturing an image with an analog camera and the enchantment that unfolds during the subsequent phases of imaginative transformation, devoid of any overt action.
Intuitively, I gather images on analog film, with the negative serving as a point of departure. The final iteration of the image emerges during the printing process or through manipulation of the digitized negative on screen.