The Netherlands

Marlous van der Sloot

www.marlousvandersloot.com

Biography

Marlous van der Sloot (1986) graduated in 2011 from the Royal Academy of Arts in the Netherlands, where her work developed towards the perception of senses.

Le Corps Vécu is van der Sloot’s first body of work. This project is focusing on restoring physicality to our overly rational minds, bringing us back in touch with our body and the sensual world around us. Le Corps Vécu gained international attention at the Grand Prix Fotofestiwal Lodz,
a nomination for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Prize and several other nominations. Besides it was shown in international festivals, galleries and events, including; Galerie Voies Off (FR), Singapore International Photography Festival (SG), Journées photographiques de Biel/Bienne (CH), PHotoEspaña (ES), F Book show (JP) and Circulation(s); Festival de la Jeune Photographie Européeene (FR).

Currently van der Sloot is working on a new body of work that will be launched at beginning 2015. 'Origin of Species' (work title) is a continuation of her photographic search to resonate with the essence of being. ‘Birth’ or better said ‘the beginning of life’, will be her guidance and use of metaphor, although ‘restoring physicality’ remains a significant tool for the artist.

Since 2012 she’s represented by Voies Off Galerie (FR) under the direction of Christophe Laloi.

Portfolio

Le Corps Vecu

“In my first body of work ‘Le Corps Vécu‘ (living body) I focus on restoring physicality to our overly rational minds, bringing us back in touch with our body and the sensuous world around us. This work is strongly influenced by writings of the English zoologist Desmond Morris, who became famous for observing human beings as animals. Morris goes on to describe in ‘Intimate behavior’ how we become less physical in modern society and that our sense of touch is literally shrinking. This scientific observation became my main interest and still is today. Besides Morris, the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty point the
same issue. He uses the beautiful metaphor of a sleeping arm to clarify his thoughts on the subject-matter. In this condition the arm is biologically still yours, but you do not experience it as yours. It seems like the arm of a stranger…

‘Le Corps Vecu’ is my visual interpretation on this topic; questioning physicality in modern society and to make this idea and feeling of touch and physical awareness explicit.”