The photography of Sandra Jonkers
For several years now, I had been following the publications of Sandra Jonkers, someone I consider to be one of the most talented Dutch street photographers. Her works were always encouraging, as they inspired me to look around and search for situations which were out of the ordinary.
In April 2017 RAW Streetphoto Gallery is also celebrating its one year anniversary. With the exhibition of Sandra Jonkers I wanted to demonstrate the gallery's committment to supporting Dutch photography as well as stimulate the further development of the street photography movement.
It definitely was an incredibly happy moment when Sandra agreed to exhibit her works and do her solo exhibition at the RAW Gallery.
The importance of her works can be attributed to the way Sandra approaches photography – the full concentration on the subject, timed precision and perfect composition. The absolute unison of these factors enable Sandra to create works that truly speak for themselves.
With Sandra Jonkers' upcoming exhibition, the curating subject was to create a story; the story of Rotterdam's streets and its inhabitants, the Rotterdammers. Once known as a mainly industrial city in the past, Rotterdam has completely changed its image. This is the image that Sandra has captured in her works. Happy faces, new looks and the charming comfort of a city which has risen from the ashes of World War II and made a new name for itself.
Indeed Rotterdam's new generation is totally different from the previous generation of workers and shipbuilders. Everything has changed and new life is blossoming, full of optimism.
