There are places that become visible only when their surroundings grow dim. From this light emerges a softening of the polar night, giving rise to something new and perceptible within the darkness. For the first time in Estonia, audiences can experience the mystical, luminous installation-based works of Dutch artist Lisanne Hoogerwerf—works that are not merely photographs, but traces of temporary worlds created in the artist’s studio.
Hoogerwerf constructs her landscapes on a small scale, using everyday materials such as wood, sand, cardboard, paint, and light sources. Tiny lamps, concealed beams of light, and carefully shaped shadows do not simply illuminate the image; they lend it spatial depth and a sense of presence that extends beyond the flat surface into the surrounding space, forming an installative condition. For Hoogerwerf, photography is a means of capturing something inherently fleeting—moments in which light, form, and chance reach a fragile equilibrium. Once photographed, these worlds are dismantled and returned to fragments, leaving behind only the photograph as a quiet testimony to something that once physically existed but has now disappeared.
The uninhabited views are devoid of everyday bustle and clear narrative. In their place lingers a slightly unsettling silence. In Hoogerwerf’s worlds, nature is not something to be conquered or saved, but an autonomous, slow, and enigmatic presence. Visually, opposites intertwine: brightness and darkness, playfulness and gravity, utopia and dystopia. Temporary shelters, playgrounds, abandoned structures, and peripheral spaces appear suspended in a state of waiting, illuminated from within.
At the beginning of the year, when daylight is scarce, these works do not dispel the darkness but soften it. Rather than urging haste or explanation, the exhibition invites lingering—allowing the eyes to adjust to the dimness and letting the light gradually emerge.
Lisanne Hoogerwerf (b. 1987, The Netherlands) is a visual artist based in The Hague, working primarily with photography and video. She studied Fine Art at the Royal Academy of Art The Hague (KABK) and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Literature Studies at Leiden University. During her studies, she also participated in an Erasmus exchange at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki.
Hoogerwerf’s artistic practice centers on the construction of small-scale, handmade environments using everyday materials such as wood, cardboard, sand, paint, and light. These fragile, temporary installations are created in the studio and dismantled after being photographed or filmed. What remains is an image that functions as a quiet trace of something that once physically existed.
Her work explores themes of impermanence, solitude, memory, and transformation, often depicting uninhabited landscapes that hover between reality and imagination. Drawing inspiration from inner states, the subconscious, and contemporary global conditions, Hoogerwerf’s landscapes act as psychological spaces rather than literal places. In recent years, she has expanded her practice into video, creating slow-moving, meditative works that trace symbolic journeys of change.
Hoogerwerf has presented her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions and international art fairs, including PAN Amsterdam, UNSEEN Photography Fair, Enter Art Fair (Copenhagen), and WESTBUND Art & Design (Shanghai). Her work is held in several public and private collections, including the Aegon Art Collection, Essent Art Collection, Firely Art Collection, and the LAM Museum.
