Blommers & Schumm have been a regular collective since their student days at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm worked together from 1997 and developed into leading names in international fashion photography. Their work appeared in titles such as Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman, Dazed & Confused and The New York Times Magazine.
What makes them special is the combination of aesthetics and experimentation. Their images seem perfectly stylized and timeless, but often there is an unexpected twist in them: a glass that seems to fall, a face composed of loose objects, a moment that cannot exist but is captured nonetheless. This play between composition and alienation is their trademark.
Remarkably, they hardly use any digital manipulation. Everything is staged in front of the lens: objects, lighting and timing combine to create that one decisive moment. This keeps the photographs tangible and authentic, despite their alienating appearance.
The exhibition at Foam is an overview of their career and provides insight into how they continually reapproach fashion photography. Their work blurs the boundaries between autonomous artwork and commercial imagery, making it as challenging for art lovers as it is for fashion insiders.
"In Mid-Air, you discover how Blommers & Schumm use precision and play to create images that seem too still to be true, but force you to look again."
Foam shows works that have set the tone in international journals in recent decades, as well as lesser-known experiments. The result is an exhibition that shows how seemingly calm images can carry tension, play and humor. For the visitor, this means: your gaze is constantly unbalanced and refocused.