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About Sem Langendijk:
Sem Langendijk has an interest in communities and their habitats, the urban environment and spatial arrangement. Growing up in the ‘hinterland’ of Amsterdam, Sem witnessed many changing sceneries throughout the years. He researches the relation between ‘home’ and public space, what impact communities have on their environment and how space functions within the structures of a city. He continues to balance his work on the very narrow edge between visual storytelling and poetic personal documentation. As an observer, he carefully distances himself from his subjects to stay neutral in his observations and raise questions. His photography has a poetic visual language that grows on you while taking a closer look at his work.
Docklands – New York & Amsterdam is about the transition of the former harbor areas in Red Hook (Brooklyn, NY) and the ADM wharf in Amsterdam. Focusing on the high demand for living near the water the project tries to get a grip on shifting social demographics, questioning the function of public space and migration, more commonly known over long distances, thinking about crossing borders or setting out to find a new home. But on a smaller scale, due to social inequality and popularity of ‘the city’, populations are continuously driven to relocate elsewhere, even within the capitals of our Western world. Sem’s long-term project Docklands tries to connect history and a past of shipbuilding and migration overseas with identity of place, a sense of belonging and micro migration.
His personal experiences have led him to start working on this theme through photography. Sem himself had to move from home to home to make way for real estate development and an increase in population and wealth, so in this sense, it’s also a very personal project. He has a strong need for storytelling and commenting on inequality and social difference. Ownership of public space and how communities are affected by changes are what he has been working on in several places, such as Amsterdam, New York and also London. His work in general deals with communities and identity of place and the concept of ‘home’.
About The Gallery Club:
The Gallery Club is a non-profit foundation for photography, organized around exhibitions, dinners and events. Every edition of The Gallery Club explores the work of a wide range of Dutch and international photographers through a different theme. All the activities of The Gallery Club benefit the foundation.
About ARTIST FIRST!
ARTIST FIRST! is a new art initiative for a diverse and dynamic program for contemporary art in Amsterdam. In the Laurierstraat 82 The Gallery Club has joined forces with Francis Boeske Projects, LANGart and Dapiran Art Project Space. At ARTIST FIRST! The Gallery Club will program her special solo exhibitions.
