PRESS RELEASE: Every year, the John & Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation supports promising young contemporary artists in developing their artistry. This year, the choice fell on visual artist Vivian Ammerlaan. Her work is characterized by fictional landscapes, captured through digital and experimental analog photography. To find inspiration for a new series of works, Vivian will travel to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States this spring. The result of this trip will be compiled in a book and will be on display at Singer Laren from November 25, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Common thread: fascination with landscapes
Landscapes are the common thread in Vivian's work. She combines digital and analog techniques to create fictional worlds that reflect memories and desires. Vivian: “These techniques give me the space to create images that go beyond what is immediately visible. It's a way of depicting feelings and memories – something that can never be fully captured in a photograph alone.” During her trip to the Rocky Mountains, Vivian wants to be inspired by the grandeur, space, and emptiness of this overwhelming landscape. “For me, it's not about an exact representation of the place, but about what the landscape evokes in me. I want to experience the colors and the wilderness, and translate that feeling into my work.”

A world of dreams and desires
Jan Rudolph de Lorm, board member of the Foundation, explains the choice for Vivian: “With her art, Vivian knows how to create dream worlds and landscapes that only exist in our desires. Her use of photographic techniques is unique, and she knows how to master them completely.” Vivian herself says: "In an age when the world has been accurately mapped, I am drawn to the remote and the undiscovered. My work revolves around the question of how you can capture the essence of landscapes without being physically present. Memories and dreams play a major role in this. Using everyday materials, I create landscapes that evoke a world where humans have no place—an elusive place where time loses its meaning."

Read more on the website of John & Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation.