Hans Withoos The Beauty of suffering… Hans Withoos’ photography is set in the world of abundance and artifice--the smell of decadence wafts towards the viewer. It is a world simultaneously familiar and different. In Withoos’ exaggerated scenes, the figures crowding the images become archetypes, and the viewer is overcome by a sense of alienation. The work is full of layered, staged images with idiosyncratic esthetics. Sometimes the photographs evoke emotions related to suffering, sensuality and hidden oppressiveness; at other times the images depict the complete opposite and are deliberately emotionless.

Models are portrayed as Greek mythological heroes, movie stars or plastic dolls. All are photographed in edgy environments. The demonstrated anxiety in ‘The Beauty of Suffering’ is the element that brings the theme to life.

The artist describes his oeuvre: “The images don’t show a critical perspective, but rather an observant one. The location itself determines the position of the model, as well as my emotional state. All of this is reinforced through styling and embellishment.”

‘It takes a lot of preparation before the ultimate image is shot. The choice of the model, clothing and make-up must measure up to the image I have in mind. Later, in the studio I edit the images on the computer. Like a classical painter I build layer upon layer to complete the image to perfection.”

The theme of ‘the beauty of suffering’ is portrayed in various series. The idea of prolonged suffering inspired ‘The Apocalypse I: The Raft of The Medusa,’ which Withoos shot in collaboration with Jolanda Cats beginning 2009. It is influenced by ‘The Raft of the Medusa,’ an 1819 painting by Theodore Gericault. In addition to making a group portrait reminiscent of Gericault, Withoos chose to portray every survivor individually, as a god washed ashore.

The ‘gods’ emotional expressions are amplified and wholly visible in every detail. Each model becomes the personification of a mythical figure. The series ‘Plastic Dolls’ plays with the same theme. It is both a critical and humorous view of the glamorous but artificial world shown in glossy magazines and commercials. People are reduced to the status of useful dolls, to be inserted into or seized from any environment on command.



At the moment Hans Withoos is working on a new series titled ‘Nocturnal Delight’. It consists of a series of tableaux vivants similar to photographed stills from movie scenes. In the staging, Withoos takes scene setting a step further, or actually a step back. In creating each setting the artist searches for a precise moment when someone--a voyeur who perceives the emotions of the portrayed characters--accidently enters the scene. The images evoke a sustained tension between the mysterious and fashionable.

The general theme of ‘Nocturnal Delight’ is that of mortals in their weakest moments--experiencing suffering, the complications of worldly addictions, and the consequences of moments of passion.

This contrasts with ‘The Raft of The Medusa,’ where the models, shown as Greek gods, degenerate into mythical archetypes. This series is made even more remarkable by the deliberate choice of recognizable locations like the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, Fifth Avenue and Central Park in New York City, Jam el Fna in Marrakech, the canals of Amsterdam and many more. As in all Withoos’ work, the final images are determined by the tension specific locations evoke in the mind of the artist.