Elspeth Diederix (KENYAN, B. 1971)

Elspeth Diederix started at the art academy by studying painting and sculpture but soon tried her hand at photography, which became her preferred medium. Diederix is playful and inventive in her visualisation of images but strict and almost mathematical in constructing her compositions. They seem to have been brought about by chance, but are in fact staged to an extreme degree. A plastic bag may become a flower, a plastic bottle part of a classical still life. Diederix' enigmatic photographs create a sense of alienation which she achieves by stripping everyday objects of what one normally takes for granted. Special effects are achieved by manual intervention, making everyday objects lose their sense of familiarity, acquire another meaning and seem to become almost abstract. She has won the Prix de Rome (Photography) (2002). Selected collections: Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Akzo Nobel Collection, ABN/AMRO collection, MEP (Paris), Mario Testino, Rabobank collection, La Salle bank (Chicago). Selected exhibitions: Doride/Ultramarine, Foam, Amsterdam (with Maura Biava) (2007), Dutch dare, Australian Cente for Photography, Sydney (2006), HxBxD, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (2005), Link, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2003) and A'dam and Eve: on sex, tolerance and other dependencies, de Appel (2001).