Ellen Kooi's Cinematic Photographs at Orthez Exhibition

Dutch artist Ellen Kooi presents constructed photographs with cinematic influence and precise staging at an exhibition in Orthez from July 2 to September 18. Her images blend familiar settings with unsettling uncertainty, featuring scenes like a woman in a red dress in a wheat field, dogs running through coastal industrial areas, a human chain emerging from the sea, a greenhouse with a haunting vision, and a figure performing a gymnastic bridge over a ditch. The works juxtapose prosaic and artificial elements, suspense and fantasy, creating a controlled yet rebellious multiplicity. Critic Didier Arnaudet notes that the images maintain their enigma while imposing as evidence, drawing from a fabulous depth that feels intimately close to dreams. Kooi previously exhibited in 2011 at the galerie municipale du Château d'eau in Toulouse.