Leendert van der Meer and his Photographic Manipulation of Reality

With my work, I exploit the potential use of the photographic image and camera, but also my role as a photographer. I investigate to which extent images, cameras and other photographic equipment manipulate reality. The foundation of my work is intuitive; I use the camera only as a tool to play within reality.

For me, everything that is very special in itself is uninteresting to work with. I’d rather focus on banalities and make them interesting by capturing them with the camera. Behind the viewfinder there seems to be a completely different world, and this allows me to steer my own and the viewer’s perception. For example: I can get rid of irritation by simply photographing it and fixing it during the post production, even though it will never change in reality.

The dissonance between the reality of my photographs and the one we inhabit it is the main focus of my work, which relies on minimalistic compositions that require a brief scrutiny by the viewer.