The MEP – Maison Européenne de la Photographie – is proud to present the first retrospective by Dutch artist Viviane Sassen. This exhibition, which comprises more than 200 works, reveals over thirty years of multifaceted creation bringing together photography, collage, painting and video.

Taking up the two main floors of the MEP, the exhibition gathers together emblematic series, including “Umbra”, “Parasomnia”, “Flamboya” and “Roxane”, as well as unseen archives, mixed-media works incorporating photography, painting, collage and video, and fashion photography. This exhibition will shed light on Viviane Sassen’s creative process by focusing on two main themes: the incessant search for new photographic forms and the importance of intimacy in her work. For Sassen, photography is more than a mere surface: it is an opening onto a place where her dreams, desires and fears co-exist with the world in all its tangible reality.

Initially studying fashion design, Viviane Sassen quickly turned to photography, pursuing her education at the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU). After completing her studies, she alternated between personal projects and commercial work. Her photographic style – with its saturated colours, interplay of light and shadow and unique portrayals of the human body – was soon in great demand. Viviane Sassen rapidly gained worldwide recognition, both in the fashion industry and in the cultural world.

On the occasion of this exhibition, a 400-page, fully illustrated book comprising several essays and designed by Dutch graphic artist Irma Boom, will bepublished by Prestel in collaboration with the MEP.