How subjective reality can be, proves the photography of Flora Van Stek. Her fascination with the mysterious forms drawn in the sand by wind or water, has resulted in a special series of photos that is constantly getting larger. With the camera as a third eye Flora Van Stek signals rugged landscapes and forms reaching out for each other in seemingly flat and monotonous sand plains. They suddenly seem to come alive. This alienation is caused by the close up. From this point of view the subject loses its perspective, is pulled out of its normal context and becomes unrecognizable. A new form comes into being that only can be given meaning after fantasy has done its work.

The photography of Flora Van Stek belongs to the photographic tradition that started around 1950 by the great American photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Minor White and Harry Callahan. As a reaction to World War II and the documentary photography that was a result of it, they started to emphasize the irrational and evocative aspects of reality...

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