Hello, Sander! Tell us a little about yourself. How did you become a photographer?
I became a photographer through a gradually increasing obsession with the medium. Growing up in the Netherlands I never saw myself becoming a photographer, I related more to design and architecture at the time. Although I’m good at drawing, I have always been too impatient to become a painter. Photography gives me that instant hit of excitement. Even though the post-production process could be lengthy, you can quite quickly see where it’s going.
At what point did you realize that you wanted to work in the nude genre?
I never really planned to be active in the nude genre, but I love the sophistication of simplicity and the human body is the perfect subject matter to reveal this. When you are presented with only a few ingredients such as a camera and a body it becomes quite hard to create a visual recipe that is different. But I discovered that because of these limitations, my perspective became more evident. It helped me to learn about what I wanted to convey and what I didn’t.
Could you tell us how your photo shoot starts?
Some shoots are very intuitively led and are based on the shape and intensity of the sunlight that casts into my studio, whilst on other occasions, I pre plan the poses. I often also collect props that could be relevant to a series. Once I have the props, I start to come up with visual ideas which I then put to the test. Some work, and some don’t. I think that it’s important to leave some space for surprises, experiments, and failure in the creative process. Otherwise, there is very little room for magic to appear.
Your work contains an element of Surrealism, blending Fine Art with Portraiture. Why did you decide to create works in this way? How was style formed in your works?
Life in its essence is very mysterious and that is what makes it so interesting. The same applies to imagery, I think that some level of mystery is good, it invites the viewer to fill in the gaps and create a story. I find that surrealism is a great tool to achieve this.
Is there any message in your works? What thoughts should they evoke in the viewer’s mind? What is the Sander Vos photographer trying to tell us in his works?
Most of my works don’t have an obvious or political message, but they do facilitate moments that allow people to just experience something familiar from an unusual perspective. We are used to seeing our bodies and people all the time but rarely do we look and notice the details. Whether it’s the glimmer in someone's eye, the texture of their skin, or the curve of a leg. Photographs kind of freeze moments and can be an entry point to observe these things carelessly and intimately.
Who or what inspires you for your creativity? Whose works or actions have greatly influenced your current style of photography?
I think that my style is sort of an amalgamation of different influences from M.C. Escher to Andre Kertesz. However, the biggest influence comes from my direct environment, observing the moment as
it passes, how the light interacts with objects or people, how shadows create shapes or moods and what feeling a texture or composition evokes.
Tell us about your creative plans in the future?
I’m currently working on a few fine art projects that explore the periphery of photography a bit more. I recently read a book called ‘Stop thinking, start living’ which applies to my art as well, as I often find direction through the creative process rather than by pre-planning things. Having said that I would love to extend my creative platform further and present my art to a bigger audience in the years to come.
Text by Lyubov Melnickowa @lumenicka