Photography as Antidote to Consumerism Hans Aarsman

FOAM MAGAZINE #13 / SEARCHING / HANS AARSMAN

Hans Aarsman~ Photography as Antidote to Consumerism

A personal experience made Hans Aarsman realize how easily he could give things up after he had photographed them. This inspired him to photograph possessions preventively, to curb his compulsive desire to possess things. Aarsman combines photos and text in a personal manifesto for ‘photography against greed’.Images and text: Hans Aarsman . Read more ...

MacbookPro, desired various times since July 2007 © Hans Aarsman

1,236 sheets of negatives from the 1980s, thrown away on 19 August 2004 © Hans Aarsman

18 July - 14 September 2008

How often does it happen, that you leave the shop without making the purchase after all? Hans Aarsman

This project invites us to consider our compulsion to own, to keep and to collect. It invites us to slim down our addiction to material things, using photography as a space and money saving device. Contributions to this display are welcome.

Hans Aarsman (b.1951, NL) worked as a photojournalist until 1994. He currently works as a writer, in particular on photography, and is co-founder of the magazine Useful Photography. He is based in Amsterdam.