Madelon van Vredendaal

Photography






Latest work: Dust from gold, Morocco










Artist statement 


I grew up without religion, yet when I was a child I asked my parents if I could join the church. At the time, I knew nothing of other faiths besides Christianity, and not long after I was baptized and had my first communion. In the end, the church was not my path, but this moment reveals something essential about who I am and the art I create.

From an early age, I felt a strong spiritual bond with all living beings and with life itself. My deep love for animals, humans, the universe, and nature is inseparable from the grief and pain I feel when I witness the harm being done to the world. This led me to speak out early against injustice; toward humans, animals, and the environment, and to become involved in activist movements. For me, love and loss are intertwined: grief and wonder cannot exist without each other.

My camera is my way of navigating the tension between these feelings. It is an actor in imagining realities beyond the limits of what we have been taught. Guided by surrealism and the idea of aesthetic justice; the belief that beauty can open us, nurture empathy and inspire us to care for the world, I use photography to both reflect reality and dream new possibilities. To change the world, we must first imagine the world we long for. By imagining connection, we create it. And what we learn to love, we fight to protect.

To create this vision, I work with experimental photographic methods and avoid digital manipulation. Everything happens during the process; my photographic craft becomes a ritual itself. I see truth not as fixed, but as something fluid, co-created, and always open to new meaning.

Born in 2003, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, I study Photography (Fine Art) at Willem de Kooning Academy. My work has been exhibited at Backlight Photo Festival Finland and various places in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. My work varies from fine art, portrait, and fashion to conceptual and alternative image-making. Besides that, I am also experienced in event, wedding, pregnancy, and other commercial photography.
No photoshop or AI has been used in any photographs.

Contact:
madelonvanvredendaal@gmail.com
+31 6 15 22 82 82

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