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Esther Zitman

zine , to draw , Publication , photographs , movie , Digital , Audiovisual

I like to work with different techniques that are often related to photography in all conceivable forms. From a large archive of found photographic material, such as postcards and old encyclopedias, I dig up images that I use to create new work. In addition to my individual work as a visual artist, I program art in the exhibition space Het Schreiershuisje in Schiedam and I am a member of the editorial team of the vintage photography zine Fotolini.

FOTOZINI #2 The Smoke Issue
FOTOZINI #2 The Smoke Issue - I created FOTOZINI #2 The Smoke Issue together with photographer and designer Arjen Zwart, co-founder, designer, and editor of the internationally renowned photozine Dog Food († 2024); photo historian and curator Hedy van Erp; and NFM photographer/librarian Sjef van Duin. Fotozini is an A5-sized photozine for lovers of paper magazines and obscure, unconventional vintage photography. Sometimes with an unexpected modern counterpart, and always with contemporary relevance and a healthy dose of irony. With Fotozini, we create a platform where photography is not elevated to art, but is instead employed as a means to unmask the construction of visual meaning. We embrace the democratic tradition of the zine as a medium in which experimentation, irony, and social criticism converge. Our goal is not to create pretty pictures, but to ask critical questions about how we look and what we see.
The dress
De Jurk 2025 - My sculpture in the public space De Jurk was recently renovated and renewed. Where De Jurk was originally decorated with a somewhat traditional rose pattern, the artwork has now acquired a more pronounced character. The renovation offered me the opportunity to update the sculpture. The inspiration for the new pattern comes from drawings that I made in recent years, with my growing frustration about the world situation in the background and specifically about how certain power structures, often dominated by older white men, influence the world and also our society. But also concerns about women's rights and the return of conservative images of women were a source of inspiration. The result is a dress that looks more resilient and powerful than before. When I studied at the art academy in the 80s, female artists were hardly represented in art (history). Although the position of women in the art world has improved considerably in the past thirty years, great vigilance remains necessary for a possible relapse in this positive development. The renewed Dress not only stands in the park as an aesthetic object, but also tells a story about emancipation, resilience and social developments.
Blouse III
Blouse IIX - Blouse IIX is part of a series of blouse blueprints that I have treated with tannic acid. The blouses are identical, as blueprints of 'the blouse', only the design is different each time.
Chandelier
Kroonluchter - Paper lithograph, 2025
Generaal - 2023

SLOOT

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Self-published photo book with a selection of photos taken during train journeys between Schiedam and The Hague

https://www.estherzitman.com/projects-7

MYOPIA

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Self-published photo book with selection of photos taken during wanderings in Eastern Netherlands

https://www.estherzitman.com/myopia

WACHT

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Self-administered photo book with selection of photos taken during and after the lockdown

https://www.estherzitman.com/venster-2
This artist has no awards yet.