“Memento Mori”, Latin for “remember you must die”, is an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. The point of this reminder isn’t to be morbid or promote fear, but to inspire, motivate and clarify.
Seneca urged in his Moral Letters to Lucilius”, “Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day…The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”
SYNOPSIS
Renata Dutrée is a Dutch Fine Art photographer and former dermatologist, based in The Netherlands, who creates classical Fine Art portraits and Still lifes, by combining beautiful use of light with references to symbolism, religion, art, and history. In her works she intertwines personal stories and emotions of the models with past experiences as a medical doctor. She explores ways to portray humanity in a different way, by giving space to expressing an inner life, one that is kept hidden and giving it significance and legitimacy. By creating aesthetically pleasing compositions and powerful, yet somewhat mysterious imagery, she can connect a dark and sometimes disturbing past to the present with subtlety and great sensitivity. Colours are used as statements in a common universal language, they translate a specific mood or feeling. There are things unrevealed, stirring underneath the surface and giving the viewer a glimpse of the darkness within, evoking feelings of longing, escape and might-have-beens. The imagery is intended to challenge the viewer with social constructs that are centred around masculinity and femininity, and they transcend the individual story and reflect on what is happening around us. Renata personally is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusivity. In her artworks, she uses the bodies of her models as a mirror of our time, provoking social codes and conventions and revealing a deeper truth by raising questions.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Whilst this inevitable ending of the life cycle is the one universal inescapable commonality, it seems that the life cycle of discrimination, racism and exclusion has no end. Looking back on history, it seems to be the everlasting story of mankind.
It hurts me to see that so many people have to live under the yoke of racism, homophobia, and misogyny and will inevitably have to face an immense amount of discrimination in our society. When people are chronically treated differently, unfairly or badly, it can have effects ranging from low self-esteem to a higher risk for developing stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. This marginalization causes grief and anguish. Yet not being able or allowed to talk about these experiences has consequences for one’s self-image and self-esteem. It is difficult to accept yourself and develop a positive self-image when society looks down on you because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, your skin color or because you are a victim of sexual abuse.
When I was a resident in dermatology it struck me that so many people apparently led double lives. Seemingly ordinary men and women hid secrets from those closest to them: their families, friends and co-workers. They kept their sexual orientation or the abuse a secret and were caught in a web of lies, risks and shame. Ever since I’ve been fascinated by the duality of what we present to others and what we keep hidden.
The recurring themes in my work deal with hiding and/or revealing and the feminine versus the masculine. Duality is key, dark versus light, exterior versus inside, strength versus vulnerability, past versus present, wanting to be seen versus not daring to show yourself. My work evolves around this yin and yang balance of life and you could say I try to balance life’s books in a visual way. Composition is key as I’m looking for visual balance.
I love the use of clair-obscur as by Master painters Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Francesco de Zurbarán, as it heightens the portraits or scene’s emotional intensity. Raphael is a great inspiration as he was known for his keen sense of drama, his use of gestures and facial expressions to portray emotion. The exquisite sculptures of Michelangelo and Bernini and the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci are a wonderful source for interesting poses and postures to use as body language. All these references seem to get juggled and piled up in my creative process and become one whole.
With my Fine art portraits and still lifes I draw attention to the possible aftermath of difficulties that we may encounter in our lives and they transcend the individual story and reflect on what is happening around us. The narrative often gently unfolds in the expressions of the subjects or in their postures. There is a sense of mystery, things that are left unrevealed. It evokes feelings of longing, escape and might-have-beens.
I’m fascinated by the deeply hidden pain of traumas in our minds and hope to reveal something about their existence via my photography. Your mind and soul are incredible vessels for transporting stories, whether these are ever told or if they’re kept inside. I think my photography helps me to express myself on a deep emotional level, as I feel like my work is inhabited by many emotional layers and the narratives are inherently connected to my past and present.
With my images I both hope to arouse the viewer’s curiosity about the other and create awareness of the presence of suppressed grief and anguish. On the surface there is this seductive beauty, hidden underneath this however is a deeper layer, a photographic study of an inner life, of human emotions. It is an invitation to take a step back, zoom out and see life from a higher vantage point than your own, without prejudice. If we are able to change our value judgments, I strongly believe it will reduce the seemingly insurmountable differences between people and races. For me it is not about being idealistic, but about being hopeful.
“And what really matters –quoting Henri David Thoreau– is not what you look at, but what you see.”
Hopefully my work also offers solace to viewers who might experience my imagery as something close to life as they know it.
AWARDS
- TIFA Awards 2022, Bronze in category Fine Art-Portrait with series “Pride and Prejudice”
- Chromatic Awards 2022, Honorable Mention Fine Art with “Presence, a State of Mind”
- ND Awards 2022, Honorable Mention People Portrait with series “Ombra Mai Fu”
- Life Framer Open Call 2022, Editors’ Picks with “I Messiah I”
- reFocus One Shot Awards 2022,
- 2 Nominee in the category Portraits
- “Ptolemy, King of Egypt”
- “Serse, King of Persia”
- 2 Nominee in the category Portraits
- IPA Awards 2022, 2 Honorable Mentions with series “Pride and Prejudice”
- 8th Annual Fine Art Photography Awards 2022,
- 3 Nominees in the category Portraits
- one with the series “On Golden Shores”
- one with the series” Ulysses, citizen of the World”
- one with the series ” Madonna with the Roses”.
- 3 Nominees in the category Portraits
- 17th Julia Margaret Cameron Award 2021, Overall Winner of Professional Series with “Losing Faith”
- Shortlisted for BBA Photography Prize 2021
- IPA Awards 2021, Honorable Mention in category Fine Art Other with “Shadows of my Mind” series
- Le Prix de la Photographie de Paris ( PX3 )2021, Silver with “Time Will Tell” the Still life series in category Fine Art, Honorable Mention with “Time Will Tell” the portrait series in category Fine Art and Honorable Mention with “Shadows of my Mind” series in category Special
- LifeFramer Colors 2021, Editor’s Pick with “Blue Moves”
- Masters of Photography, Photo Competition Black& White, Highly commended, “Portrait of Jude”
- Nominated DuPho SO Award 2021
- Sienna Creative Photo Awards 2021 shortlisted
- Lensculture Portrait Awards 2020 finalist with “Daniel With Flowers”, single image
- Lensculture Black&White Photography Awards 2020 finalist with the “Shadows of my Mind” series
- Life Framer Colors Winners 2020 with “Presence a State of Mind IV”
- 16th Julia Margaret Cameron Award 2021, 2nd place in the category Black&White with the “Shadows of my Mind” series and Honorable Mention in the category Fine Art with the “The Bride” series
- 16th Pollux Awards 2021, 3rd place in the category Fine Art with the “The Bride” series and Honorable Mention with the “I Messiah” and “Memories, Memorials, Momentum and Mixed Moods” series
- 7th Annual Fine Art Photography Awards,
- Two Nominees in the category Fine Art
- one with the Still Life series “Time Will Tell”
- one with the series “Blue Moves”
- Nominee in the category Portrait with the portrait series ”Time Will Tell”
- Nominee in the category Other with single image “Blue Moves”.
- Two Nominees in the category Fine Art
- 6th Annual Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards 2021, winner with the series “Shadows of my Mind”
- TIFA Awards 2020,
- Bronze in the category Fine Art-Portrait with the portrait series ”Time Will Tell”
- Two Honorable Mentions
- one in the category Fine Art -Other with the series “Blue Moves”
- one in the category Fine Art-Still Life with the Still Life series “Time Will Tell”.
- IPA Awards 2020,
- Two Honorable Mentions in the category Fine Art/Portrait
- one with the series “Memories, Memorials, Momentum and Mixed Moods”
- one with the series “Presence a State of Mind”.
- Two Honorable Mentions in the category Fine Art/Portrait
- 15th POLLUX Awards 2020,
- 1st place Winner in the category Still life with the “Time Will Tell” series
- 1st place Winner in the category Portrait single with “Daniel With Flowers”,
- Six Honorable Mentions
- one in category Fine Art with the portrait series “Time Will Tell”
- five in category Portrait single.
- GUPNew 2020 Photography Talent
- Nominated DuPho SO Student Award 2020
- &C Talent November 2019
EXHIBITIONS
- 2022 group exhibition BBA One Shot Award, Berlin, February 3rd-18th.
- 2022 group exhibition FotoNostrum, 3rd Barcelona Foto Biennale, Barcelona, October 15th- November 27th.
- 2022 group exhibition ImageNation, Milan, September 23rd-29th.
- 2022 Berlin Photo Week 2022, BBA Photography Prize selection, 2-4 September, Berlin
- 2022 solo exhibition State of Mind, Hotel Arena, Amsterdam, May 20th-July 4th
- 2022 group exhibition BBA Photography Prize Remix 2021, Berlin, February 3-27, 2022
- 2021 group exhibition 6th Biennial Gala Awards FotoNostrum, FotoNostrum Mediterranean House Of Photography, Barcelona, December 8th – January 8th
- 2021 group exhibition BBA Photography Prize 2021, Berlin, Nov 26, 2021 – Dec 12, 2021
- 2021 Biennial festival Masterly The Hague, 21st-24th October
- 2021 solo exhibition State of Mind, Atelier K84 Amsterdam, 10th September-10th October
- 2021 Berlin Photo Week 2021, BBA Photography Prize selection, 26th August-3rd September, Berlin
- 2021 group exhibition Featureshoot Winners ,East London, April
- 2021 SXSW festival Austin,March 16-20, New Dutch Wave, selection of Dutch Photography (DuPho)
- 2020 group exhibition Life Framer Photography Prize Edition VI, Rotterdam_Contour Gallery, 2021 Paris_Galerie&co119, 2021 Milan Officine Fotografiche
- 2020 group exhibition Podium MH Hilversum
- 2019 group exhibition Expo Still Amsterdam
- 2019 group exhibition GUPNew Amsterdam
- 2014 group exhibition masterclass Breda Photo
PUBLICATIONS
- Chromatic Awards Awards 2022 Book
- Dodho Magazine issue 23 (December 2022)
- Lens Magazine issue 98 ( November 2022)
- Pf fotografie magazine issue 7 (November 2022)
- Life Framer inclusion in The Collection of the series “Pride and Prejudice” (online 2022)
- Art Market Magazine issue 73, ( August 2022)
- Lens Magazine issue 90 ( March 2022)
- JaamZIN Creative Magazine issue 9 Vol 4 (30-09-2021)
- Het Parool, (23-09-2021)
- Talent in Focus, Photo31 (online 24-05-2021)
- Life Framer inclusion in The Collection of the series “Time will Tell” (online 2020)
- Artwista International Network to find Contemporary Art (online 2020)
- Uncoated_Platform, Collection of Contemporary Photo Talent with the series “Time Will Tell” (online 2020)
- EuropeNow Journal (8-12-2020)
- Photo & Technique issue 10, (July 2020)
- Hello Gorgeous issue 31, (summer 2020)
- Kiekie the art issue no 30, (June 2020)
- Aesthetica Magazine web (23-06-2020)
- Fotonostrum Magazine issue 3, (30-05-2020)
- Het Parool, (18-04-2020)
- Het Parool (13-12-2019)
- SHUTR photo (issue 4, 2019)
- De Gaykrant, (13-08-2019)
- Het Parool, (17-11-2018)
- Feroce Magazine, (September 2018)
- Trend Privé Magazine, (January 2018)
- Volant Magazine, (January 2018)
- Kaltblut Magazine web, ( December 2017)
- Winq, (22-08-2017)
- Afi Magazine, (May 2017)