Astrid Boers

Astrid Boers (1985, The Netherlands) is a 30 year old photographer come intrepid explorer residing in Leerdam. (No, no arctic explorations to see here but she has completed some pretty thrill-seeking and dangerous missions in her time…)

Let us ask you this: Have you ever walked through the halls of an abandoned factory? Have you ever found ruins and decay breath-taking? If the answer is no: Astrid will take you through a journey among the remains of our civilization, capturing the beauty of what we have left behind. If the answer is yes: well, some people could think you’re a morbid guy, and you might consider going to the Bahamas for your next vacation.

Astrid loves to travel and photograph throughout Europe in pursuit of discovering abandoned places that often people have not set foot in for decades. She has a blog where she signs herself with the nickname “Miss Sentinelli”, that she has used since she was 16. She organises “PhotoWalks” where other adventurous photographers join her as they visit cities or natural sites inspiring each other along the way.

Her photography is raw and very simple at times, showing the horror vacui and emptiness of once rich, decorated rooms and buildings, after the passing of time. Another leitmotif in her work consists of capturing inanimate objects, such as old technological artefacts, that with her sense of composition she turns into fascinating still lives.

Her take on The Awesome, the series of work for The Public House of Art, is recognisable in the splendour of days gone by, in the coexistence of past and present, in the wonderful and melancholic places and objects she photographs.

Both in the interiors and in the external “ready made” sets she photographs, she only uses natural light, letting the truth of a place express itself. Her intervention on the surroundings is minimal, but she is able through the juxtaposition of objects in the space to create very powerful compositions.

She exhibits every year at the Leerdamse Kunstvierdaagse, where artworks from different media are shown annually.