courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
Courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
Courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
The exhibition Beyond the Horizon presents the work of Dutch artist and photographer Scarlett Hooft Graafland, whose practice lies at the crossroads of photography, performance, and sculpture. Her medium-format analogue photographs emerge from ephemeral interventions staged in fragile and often remote landscapes — from the Bolivian salt flats to the deserts of Yemen, from Arctic territories to the vast expanses of northern Canada (Nunavut), as well as Madagascar and islands across the Pacific. Far from being straightforward documentation, her photographs are carefully choreographed mises en scenes in which everyday objects, colourful fabrics, sculptural forms, or human figures disrupt the natural order of the landscape. These interventions create subtle dissonances, blending humour, surrealism,...
The exhibition Beyond the Horizon presents the work of Dutch artist and photographer Scarlett Hooft Graafland, whose practice lies at the crossroads of photography, performance, and sculpture. Her medium-format analogue photographs emerge from ephemeral interventions staged in fragile and often remote landscapes — from the Bolivian salt flats to the deserts of Yemen, from Arctic territories to the vast expanses of northern Canada (Nunavut), as well as Madagascar and islands across the Pacific. Far from being straightforward documentation, her photographs are carefully choreographed mises en scenes in which everyday objects, colourful fabrics, sculptural forms, or human figures disrupt the natural order of the landscape. These interventions create subtle dissonances, blending humour, surrealism, and visual poetry while sharpening our awareness of place. Each image unfolds like a visual fable — playful, critical, and deeply attuned to our relationship with nature and cultural identities. A distinctive element of her practice is her resolute refusal of digital retouching. Every photograph is the unique trace of a performance executed on-site, captured in a single take. This commitment to authenticity underscores the impermanence of the gesture, the fragility of the environments she explores, and the truthfulness of the lived moment. At the core of her work lies a genuine philosophy of slowness: long journeys, patient immersion in the landscapes, close observation of light and natural rhythms, and close collaboration with local communities. In a world saturated with instantaneous imagery, her practice invites pause, contemplation, and the rediscovery of wonder. For the Photo Brussels Festival, a curated selection of works highlights this singular approach, combining conceptual rigour with visual poetry. Her practice resonates strongly with contemporary concerns such as ecology, cultural dialogue, and the need for mindful presence — all crucial to the Festival’s thematic focus. Artistic Career of Scarlett Hooft Graafland Background and Education Scarlett Hooft Graafland was born in 1973 in Maarn, the Netherlands. She lives and works in Amsterdam. She studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (1995–1999), completed a postgraduate programme at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem (1999–2000), and went on to earn an MFA in Sculpture from Parsons School of Design in New York. Originally trained as a sculptor, she began photographing her performances and installations; over time, photography emerged as an autonomous and central medium within her artistic practice. Artistic Approach and Working Method Scarlett travels to remote, isolated, or extreme locations: salt deserts, polar regions, coastal zones, or distant islands. She often collaborates with local inhabitants: after weeks or months of preparation, she creates performances, sculptures, or temporary installations in the landscape together with them. The resulting photograph is not a document but the culmination of the entire creative process: a carefully choreographed, often surreal image in which nature, local culture, poetry, and sometimes humour come together. She works with analog photography: her images are taken on film, without digital manipulation. For her, this is essential to preserve authenticity and spontaneity. Themes & Aesthetics Her work addresses themes such as the fragility of nature, the disappearance of traditional cultures, and the tension between modernity and ancestral ways of life. Yet she approaches these subjects with lightness, poetry and a subtly surreal touch. By placing unexpected objects — balloons, pigments, brightly coloured textiles, sculptural forms — within raw natural environments, she transforms the landscape into a visual theatre where reality and imagination intersect. Her photographs invite reflection on nature, identity, cultural exchange, and our relationship with the environment, while maintaining an enduring sense of wonder and poetic resonance Career & Recognition Hooft Graafland has exhibited widely in museums and galleries around the world, including solo exhibitions at Huis Marseille (Amsterdam), the Museum of Photography in Seoul, the Landskrona Museum (Sweden), Fotografiska (Stockholm), and numerous institutions across Europe, Asia and South America. In 2025, she was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at Panorama Mesdag in The Hague, Mesmerizing, which featured both iconic works and new pieces created specifically for the occasion. Her work is represented in many public and private collections, including museums, cultural foundations and corporate collections. Recent Developments In her most recent series, she explores new forms — notably combining analogue photography with hand embroidery — introducing a tactile and handcrafted dimension to her images. She continues to travel, explore new landscapes and cultures, and create works that engage in a nuanced dialogue between nature, community and memory.| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Friday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Saturday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Sunday | Closed |
| ... and by appointment | |
courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
Courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
Courtesy Michèle Schoonjans Gallery
The exhibition Beyond the Horizon presents the work of Dutch artist and photographer Scarlett Hooft Graafland, whose practice lies at the crossroads of photography, performance, and sculpture. Her medium-format analogue photographs emerge from ephemeral interventions staged in fragile and often remote landscapes — from the Bolivian salt flats to the deserts of Yemen, from Arctic territories to the vast expanses of northern Canada (Nunavut), as well as Madagascar and islands across the Pacific. Far from being straightforward documentation, her photographs are carefully choreographed mises en scenes in which everyday objects, colourful fabrics, sculptural forms, or human figures disrupt the natural order of the landscape. These interventions create subtle dissonances, blending humour, surrealism,...
The exhibition Beyond the Horizon presents the work of Dutch artist and photographer Scarlett Hooft Graafland, whose practice lies at the crossroads of photography, performance, and sculpture. Her medium-format analogue photographs emerge from ephemeral interventions staged in fragile and often remote landscapes — from the Bolivian salt flats to the deserts of Yemen, from Arctic territories to the vast expanses of northern Canada (Nunavut), as well as Madagascar and islands across the Pacific. Far from being straightforward documentation, her photographs are carefully choreographed mises en scenes in which everyday objects, colourful fabrics, sculptural forms, or human figures disrupt the natural order of the landscape. These interventions create subtle dissonances, blending humour, surrealism, and visual poetry while sharpening our awareness of place. Each image unfolds like a visual fable — playful, critical, and deeply attuned to our relationship with nature and cultural identities. A distinctive element of her practice is her resolute refusal of digital retouching. Every photograph is the unique trace of a performance executed on-site, captured in a single take. This commitment to authenticity underscores the impermanence of the gesture, the fragility of the environments she explores, and the truthfulness of the lived moment. At the core of her work lies a genuine philosophy of slowness: long journeys, patient immersion in the landscapes, close observation of light and natural rhythms, and close collaboration with local communities. In a world saturated with instantaneous imagery, her practice invites pause, contemplation, and the rediscovery of wonder. For the Photo Brussels Festival, a curated selection of works highlights this singular approach, combining conceptual rigour with visual poetry. Her practice resonates strongly with contemporary concerns such as ecology, cultural dialogue, and the need for mindful presence — all crucial to the Festival’s thematic focus. Artistic Career of Scarlett Hooft Graafland Background and Education Scarlett Hooft Graafland was born in 1973 in Maarn, the Netherlands. She lives and works in Amsterdam. She studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (1995–1999), completed a postgraduate programme at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem (1999–2000), and went on to earn an MFA in Sculpture from Parsons School of Design in New York. Originally trained as a sculptor, she began photographing her performances and installations; over time, photography emerged as an autonomous and central medium within her artistic practice. Artistic Approach and Working Method Scarlett travels to remote, isolated, or extreme locations: salt deserts, polar regions, coastal zones, or distant islands. She often collaborates with local inhabitants: after weeks or months of preparation, she creates performances, sculptures, or temporary installations in the landscape together with them. The resulting photograph is not a document but the culmination of the entire creative process: a carefully choreographed, often surreal image in which nature, local culture, poetry, and sometimes humour come together. She works with analog photography: her images are taken on film, without digital manipulation. For her, this is essential to preserve authenticity and spontaneity. Themes & Aesthetics Her work addresses themes such as the fragility of nature, the disappearance of traditional cultures, and the tension between modernity and ancestral ways of life. Yet she approaches these subjects with lightness, poetry and a subtly surreal touch. By placing unexpected objects — balloons, pigments, brightly coloured textiles, sculptural forms — within raw natural environments, she transforms the landscape into a visual theatre where reality and imagination intersect. Her photographs invite reflection on nature, identity, cultural exchange, and our relationship with the environment, while maintaining an enduring sense of wonder and poetic resonance Career & Recognition Hooft Graafland has exhibited widely in museums and galleries around the world, including solo exhibitions at Huis Marseille (Amsterdam), the Museum of Photography in Seoul, the Landskrona Museum (Sweden), Fotografiska (Stockholm), and numerous institutions across Europe, Asia and South America. In 2025, she was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at Panorama Mesdag in The Hague, Mesmerizing, which featured both iconic works and new pieces created specifically for the occasion. Her work is represented in many public and private collections, including museums, cultural foundations and corporate collections. Recent Developments In her most recent series, she explores new forms — notably combining analogue photography with hand embroidery — introducing a tactile and handcrafted dimension to her images. She continues to travel, explore new landscapes and cultures, and create works that engage in a nuanced dialogue between nature, community and memory.| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Friday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Saturday | 12:00 - 18:00 |
| Sunday | Closed |
| ... and by appointment | |