Noorderlicht to showcase professors Piersma, Olff and Folmer’s love for nature

Noorderlicht Photography Festival and the University of Groningen are joining forces once again. After the successful collaboration with photographer Jos Janssen last year – he portrayed Nobel prizewinner Ben Feringa’s lab beautifully – this summer Eddo Hartmann will capture the activities of the research teams of Theunis Piersma (migratory bird ecology), Han Olff (ecosystems and nature-inclusive farming) and Henk Folmer (environmental economics and agricultural diversity). Hartmann’s photographs will be showcased in the 25th Noorderlicht International Photography Festival IN VIVO, which will be held from 23 June to 23 September at Museum Belvédère in Heerenveen.

IN VIVO is inspired by a rich tradition of love for nature, and will showcase photographs of a confrontational beauty which, when looked at more closely, reveal just how much our experiences of nature are orchestrated by economic, social and cultural movements.  In total there are thirty photographers from eleven countries showing their view on our experiences of nature – an essential part of our identity. Research has shown that nature has a positive effect on our health, lowers our stress levels and stimulates our creativity. Nature thus makes an important contribution to our wellbeing.

Eddo Hartmann – The Collective Landscape (2018)

Eddo Hartmann aimed his camera at several academic research groups that are studying the Dutch landscape in various disciplines. Population growth and climate change emphasize the need for more green energy by way of wind and solar farms. Farming is in urgent need of a more sustainable approach. New nature reserves should counter the decline of biodiversity. However, people are resistant to change. Therefore a small country like the Netherlands is under heavy pressure and caught in the tensions between the values of its collective heritage and those of the future.

Eddo Hartmann (1973) studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. In 2012 he published Hier woont mijn huis, a personal photography book about his childhood home. In early 2018 he launched ‘Setting the Stage - North Korea’, an exhibition in Huis Marseille and a photography book. His work is included in various collections and showcased in different museums around the world, such as the SEMA in Seoul, Museum Guislain in Ghent and The Lumière Brothers in Moscow.

OASE ORANJEWOUD | nature and focus

23 June - 23 September, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen
For this edition of the annual international festival, Noorderlicht has chosen an experiment in ‘form’. The lovely Museum Belvédère will present IN VIVO alongside the exhibition OASE ORANJEWOUD | nature and focus. The two exhibitions are one but each tell their own story.