Joachim Koester’s Some Boarded Up Houses (2009–2011) is a series of nine black-and-white photographs, five of which were acquired by the CNAP in 2014. In this series, the artist adopts the visual vocabulary of the documentary style in photography, which allows him to deploy an objective representation of urban landscapes. He focuses here on American houses with their openings, doors and windows, all boarded up. Joachim Koester records a moment in the US history, namely the consequence of the subprime mortgage crisis.
Born in 1962 in Copenhagen, Joachim Koester works mainly in the mediums of film and photography, combining documentary and fiction. His work often seeks to bring back to light forgotten persons and deserted places. Joachim Koester adopts the documentary style, signaling his belonging to a long line of photographers, from the Bechers all the way back to Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange.
Joachim Koester’s work is currently on display at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Starting on June 17, as part of the International Photography Biennial in Brussels, he will participate in a collective exhibition entitled Open Spaces / Secret Places at the Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar).
Thanks to Pascal Beausse, head of the photographic collections, and to the teams of the Centre National des Arts Plastiques who have allowed this project to be carried out.
Coordination: Annabelle Oliveira, Communications and Information at CNAP. Assisted Zelie Davin, Responsible for acquisitions photography, video, audiovisual and new media Cnap.
Translation: L’Œil de la Photographie.
Each week you can find the presentation of a piece from the photographic collection of CNAP http://www.cnap.fr and L’Oeil de la Photographie. Available in French and in English
