Through photography, I research different aspects of spatial perception. For a number of years, I have focused on two major subject matters: the hidden space and the dismantled space.

The hidden space is the extension of the public space, behind the wall, above the ceiling or beneath the floor. In fact it is the negtive space that complements the visible space as we know it. Offering views of these spaces, in relation to the accessible space in the public domain, our perception of the visible reality can be intensified.

Construction work makes many hidden spaces visible and turns the entire public space into a temporal “hidden” space. A space under construction is, in a strange way, neglected. What remains of the aura of atheatre or a museum gallery, the actors have gone, the art has been removed and the walls have stripped? As the construction work is done, and the spaces are opened to the public again, it is hard to recognize the lustrous spaces in the photographs of the stark and empty rooms. The photographs show what might still be there, behind the plastered walls.

Jan Theun van Rees