Take a seat, look at the sea in front and make sure to not look left at the polluting industry at Rotterdam harbour. At first glance the photo comes across as a quiet and serene moment and then, after exploring the horizon, that initial feeling completely reverses itself in to one of melancholy amongst the deceptive beauty. What was once an inviting gesture is turned into an apocalyptic landscape. Sand becomes ash and the water polluted. Kijkduin Beach, Netherlands, November 2022
My name is Jan Waanders. I am a Dutch photographer, currently living in Chisinau, Moldova. The Covid-19 pandemic finally allowed me the time to give photography a try myself, In September 2020, I started courses at the Kiev School of Photography and since then I have never looked back. There is only one thing that I regret: that I did not start earlier :-) Through my pictures I try to recreate the carefree, colorful, and warm world of my youth. I am inspired by Gauguin, painters of the pre-WW2 Ecole de Paris, and the Czech avant-garde photographers.
