Marnix Goossens

Among the young generation of promising photographers, the work of Marnix Goossens (Leeuwarden, 1967) stands out convincingly. His particular strength lies in his use of various forms of visual language, which together form a coherent and consistent whole. He shifts seemingly effortlessly between a documentary approach to landscape and the staging of a scene; in every image, a similar sense of alienation emerges. The constant factor seems to lie primarily in the anecdotal nature of his visual language. Each photograph tells its own story, often with subtle humor. Goossens shares a certain perspective on the world around him with his contemporaries. This perspective is clear and outward-looking. For Goossens, however, photography is never merely a description of reality, but rather an instrument capable of depicting a profoundly subjective experience of that reality. His remarkable choice of subjects and the way he subsequently captures them are of the highest caliber. Based on these qualities—which have recently been reflected in the photographs he took on commission for the city of Almere and which were recently published in the book *Regarding Nature*—the jury has concluded that Marnix Goossens’s work truly leaves one wanting more. In a relatively short time, he has proven capable of laying a solid foundation for what may develop into an unpredictable and innovative body of work in the near future.