Margaret Lansink : It’s All About Intuition
Art photographer Margaret Lansink lives and works in a small village near Amsterdam. A graduate of the Photo Academy in Amsterdam, she also studied at Le Masterklass and took courses at Atelier Smedsby in Paris.
Her approach to photography is deeply intuitive. Her often dark images nevertheless exude real power and love. As if by necessity, she almost never separates herself from her camera (not always the same one, but mainly analog) wherever she goes, whatever she does, in order to immortalize everything that touches and challenges her and capture the different atmospheres of her inner emotions. “It’s as if I had finally found a way to express my emotions,” she explains.
Empathetic and curious, she discovered during a trip to Japan the wabi sabi philosophy, a school of thought aiming to accept things as they are, seeking beauty in imperfection. It was a revelation for her and a way to overcome her fears and the suffering caused by the vagaries of life.
A member of Femmes PHOTOgraphes Paris and a founding member of Iwi Collective, Margaret advocates transmission and regularly coaches young photographers to help them develop their style and signature.
She regularly participates in exhibitions, residencies and competitions around the world. And her work has been awarded many times (Dutch New Talent 2013, Big Print Photo Contest Amsterdam 2015, Bronze Star Award for fine art book at ND Awards 2016 and 2018…). In addition, her series “Borders of Nothingness – On the Mend” received the Grand Prize of the Hariban Award 2019, and was shortlisted for the Gomma Grant 2018.
Her work is constantly evolving, and today the photographer is trying more and more experiments with her images, making collages, using paint, gold leaf, charcoal as well as liquid light and platinum palladium in the darkroom.
The result is very poetic and invites the viewer to embark on a journey through her own complex network of memories, emotions, expectations, fears and desires.
Your first photographic click ?
Margaret Lansink : My first click was with a camera of my father; I was may be 8 or 9.
The man of images who inspires you?
Margaret Lansink : Gerhard Richter! His images & paintings led me from amateur painter to professional photographer.
The image you would have liked to make?
Margaret Lansink : Henri Cartier Bresson’s image where a man jumps over the pond without getting wet.
The one that moved you the most?
Margaret Lansink : The seascapes of Hiroshi Sugimoto when visiting The Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney. Being moved by a piece of art, for me, depends on both the artwork and the moment in time.
And the one that made you angry?
Margaret Lansink : I get angry of images of naked women, shot by men, who characterise women only as erotic objects.
A key image in your personal pantheon?
Margaret Lansink : Imperfection; an image that says everything about how I want my images to present. The beauty of imperfection.
The quality needed to be a good photographer?
Margaret Lansink : Talent and perseverance
The secret of the perfect image, if it exists?
Margaret Lansink : Very subjective, but for me it should be simultaneously recognizable, and also new and challenging. One must be touched by it.
The person you would dream of photographing?
Margaret Lansink : Kamala Harris
An essential photo book?
Margaret Lansink : The Americans of Robert Frank
The camera of your beginnings?
Margaret Lansink : Mamyia C330X
The one you use today?
Margaret Lansink : Leica M6
Your favorite drug?
Margaret Lansink : Ginger tea
The best way to disconnect for you?
Margaret Lansink : Drivin’ in my campervan to somewhere, where there is a horizon with water.
Your greatest quality?
Margaret Lansink : Omoyari, says the love of my life;).
An image to illustrate a new banknote?
Margaret Lansink : Any image of Edward Weston
The job you would not have liked to do?
Margaret Lansink : A 9 to 5 job.
Your greatest extravagance as a photographer?
Margaret Lansink : Art & books & art & books and more books & art.
The values you wish to share through your images?
MMargaret Lansink : Respect and love for women and respect for our nature
The city, country or culture you dream of discovering?
Margaret Lansink : Santa Fe, the adopted home ground of Georgia O’Keeffe
The place you never get tired of?
Margaret Lansink : Japan
Your biggest regret?
Margaret Lansink : That I didn’t dare to photograph my parents in their last days of life.
Instagram, Tik Tok or snapchat?
Margaret Lansink : Instagram.
Color or B&W?
Margaret Lansink : B&W. Although I shoot also color sometimes, I hardly show them;).
Daylight or artificial light?
Margaret Lansink : Always daylight, or candle light.
The most photogenic city according to you ?
Margaret Lansink : Paris
If God existed would you ask him to pose for you, or would you opt for a selfie with him?
Margaret Lansink : If God was a woman; absolutely pose.
The image that represents for you the current state of the world?
Margaret Lansink : My tryptich Interpose.
What is missing in today’s world?
Margaret Lansink : patience and togetherness
And if everything was to be remade?
Margaret Lansink : It is what it is now. Let’s make the best out of this world, to make a better place for the children of our children.
Website : margaretlansink.com
Instagram : margaretlansink
