Reality and fiction intermingle in the series of Anoek Steketee. Her approach eliminates any possibility of purely documentary photography. Steketee uses the camera both as a tool of the imagination as an instrument to investigate societies and learn about different realities. The portraits have a beauty all their own, while also painting a picture, with subtle details, of the alienation of individuals in societies filled with contradictions.

In 2004, Steketee travelled to Iran, curious about the reality behind the image of Iran created by Western media – a society in which people appear to be part of a political and religious collective. In contrast to the Western media or the Iranian propaganda, ‘Frontstage’ showcases not the collective, but the individual. By literally placing the main figures in front of the spotlights, these individuals take on the main roles in life in Iran. They are no longer reduced to supporting cast members, merely a link in a system; they become people of flesh and blood who have different backgrounds and lifestyles. All of them tell a different story about life in Iran. The Islamic Republic and the revolutionary ideology fade into the background, becoming a dimly lit décor.

The title ‘Frontstage’ is a reference to the veneer of ‘theatre’ that is public life, and the awareness of the photographer’s position as an observer or audience. What happens in front of the curtains seems to outsiders to be an orchestrated piece of theatre. Steketee: “I am trying to tell a brief story, making it tangible that the image you see conceals other realities.”

Using a large format camera, a tripod and a set of lights, Steketee set up her equipment in public places, different locations every time, mainly in Teheran. In cooperation with journalist Eefje Blankevoort, she asked passers-by if they would be willing to pose for the camera. By using lighting and giving directions, she had the volunteers become ‘actors’ in their own lives. This approach led to interesting encounters, in which cultural differences and political and religious contexts fall away in the moment captured by the photo.

Steketee travelled several times to Iran between 2004 and 2006 to develop her project, and each time her photos became more penetrating, more intense. At the same time, they lose none of their capacity for amazement, for inspiring curiosity about the story behind the story of the people in the photo, but also about the photographer behind the camera. Her position is open, in keeping with the flexibility you expect from someone researching a society from such an angle.

“Neither the camera nor the subjects attempts to make a political statement; oblivious of the monitoring eye of the state, the people in these photographs are caught in the business of everyday life, in the miracle of living.These moments become important because they reaffirm life, reminding us that politics should be at the service of that life, to ensure the right of every individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of race, religion, class, gender, creed.” Azar Nafisi, The Guardian Weekly

Anoek Steketee, born in 1974 in Hoorn, Netherlandshad, already started working for the theater during her photography studies at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. The dramaturgy in the theaters normally expected flawless snapshots, which would as effectively as possible grasp the progress of the production’s plot. It is rare and, for stage producers, often undesirable to find theater photography that goes beyond the attentive documentary, leaving it behind for an asserted autonomy in which an entire evening of theater is compacted into an effective and subjectively opinionated image. This is why it’s not hard to believe that an ambitious photographer would leave the theater to explore the borders between art and life.

Even though her photographs are reminiscent of the subtle metropolitan stagings of Philip-Lorca dir Corcia, Anoek Steketee developed a theatrically trained, poetic perspective, enabling her to asset the oneness of places, times and activities and display an individualistic quality. The result of forcing fiction and reality together, and leaving the poetic and the documentary to struggle with each other, is the development of a photograph with an extraordinarily explosive force. The fissure doesn’t only go through the layers of the image, but also conveys itself directly towards the viewer asking, with absolute urgency, questions about the staging of his own existence.

Steketee has exhibited her work at Noorderlicht in Groningen, in Berlin and in Prague. The Guardian Weekly did an extensive feature on the ‘Frontstage’ series, and Steketee was nominated for the Joop Swart Master Class of World Press Photo. Photos from the ‘Frontstage’ series are in the collections of such diverse organisations as the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rabobank, Delta Lloyd and Chadha Art Collection.

Images and text courtesey of Galerie Gabriel Rolt, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Suite, Wellington, New Zealand

ANOEK STEKETEE

Born in 1974, Hoorn, The Netherlands

Education

2002-2003
Photography, Post-St.Joost Academie, Breda

1995-1999
Photography, Royal Academie of Arts, The Hague

Exhibitions (selection)

2007
‘Encounters’, Stadsgallerij, Heerlen
‘Thought Provoking, Sense Provoking’, Noorderlicht Galerie, Groningen
‘Descubrimientos’, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Madrid
‘Encounters’, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston
ARCO, Madrid
Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam

2006
‘Frontstage’ soloexhibition at Galerie Gabriel Rolt, Amsterdam
Lumas Gallery, Berlin
Langhans Gallery, Prague
KunstRai, Amsterdam

2005
Solo-exhibition, De Balie, Amsterdam Screening short movie ‘Playing Brado in Tehran’,
International Artfestival, Magdeburg
Noorderlicht Photofestival, ‘Traces & Omens’, Groningen

2003
Exhibition ‘Plaza Real’, Montevideo, Amsterdam
Fotobiennal ‘Experience’, Rotterdam
Exhibition ‘La Habana’, Pictura, Dordrecht

2002
Noorderlicht Photofestival, ‘Mundos Creados’, Leeuwarden

Grants/Prizes

2007
Honourable Mention, Descubrimientos, PhotoEspagna
The Netherlands Foundation of Visual arts, Design and Architecture, Grant
Nomination Paul Huf Award

2006
Nomination Joop Swart Masterclass 2006, World Press photo

2005
Nomination Unique Photography Prize 2005

2004
Amsterdam Foundation of Art, Photography Assignment 2004
Foundation Pro Musis, Grant
The Netherlands Foundation of Visual arts, Design and Architecture, Grant
DDSK Foundation, Grant

Publications/catalogues/articles (selection)

2007
Publication Noorderlicht Galerie, ‘ Wallhouse, Thought Provoking, Sense Provoking’
Portfolio in Identity Matters
Portfolio in international magazine Zoom
Portfolio in Italian magazine Internazionale

2006
Publication for Amnesty International
Feature article Lust for Life in The Guardian Weekend with writer Azar Nafisi
Photo documentary in Vrij Nederland with Prospektor
Photo documentary in Vrij Nederland with novelist Kader Abdolah

2005
Publication ‘Frontstage’, De Balie Amsterdam
Noorderlicht Catalogue, ‘Traces & Omens’
Catalogue ‘Time Travel: Tracks in the Making’

2004
Publication book ‘Outstanding’, municipality Haarlemmermeer

2002
Noorderlicht Catalogue ‘Mundos Creados’

Assignments (selection)
Noorderlicht Foundation, Prospektor, Municipality Haarlemmermeer, Municipality Amsterdam, Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland, Guardian Magazine

Collectors
Delta Lloyd, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rabobank Amsterdam, Torch Gallery , Loerakker Gallery, Chadha Art Collection and private collectors