2 Sep - 7 Oct 2012
Terra Cognita | 19th Noorderlicht International Photofestival

The 19th edition of the Noorderlicht International Photofestival transcends photographic genres to sketch a picture of the relation between man and nature, on the basis of the work of 115 photographers.
Terra Cognita is about the experience of nature, in all its manifestations, from tactile, living and breathing nature, to the nature of our thoughts, its dreamed and fantastic incarnations. Although man sometimes seems to be hardly present in the photos, he has unmistakably left his stamp on it. In all this work the landscape reveals the emotions and thoughts that the photographer has projected on it. The diverse and complex ways in which we see and experience landscapes – the nature in our genes and our minds – echo through the breadth of Terra Cognita. From timeless black and white to conceptual or computer generated, the blending of genres is total. Like nature itself, this is an exhibition not just to be seen, but to be experienced.

MAIN VENUE - MUSEUM BELVEDERE
Museum Belvédère stands in the Oranjewoud Estate Museum Park, with splendid gardens and water features and a rich cultural history. The Dutch National Forestry Service has made the park available, so that a large part of the exhibition can be integrated into these beautiful outdoor spaces. Museum Belvédère shows four of the six chapters of Terra Cognita:

1. ‘The Enchanted Forest’ : Mysterious, unfathomable and timeless. We lose ourselves in the overgrowth, wandering in a world which by turns is serene and sinister. Here man is only a nonentity, out of his element. This is a primeval landscape that appeals to primeval instincts.

2. ‘Safe Haven’ : Man and nature form a harmonious dyad. The landscape is open and safe, in part designed by man, who in turn seeks rest and recreation there. This is landscape as a museum, a playground, and a canvas on which we paint the intimate stories of our lives.


3. ‘Inspiration’ : Nature, the source of inspiration for artist who manipulate the image, nature itself, or both. Here we see a diverse selection of work from photographers who stretch the technical possibilities and content of landscape art to the limits.

4. ‘Into The Unknown’ : Unseen nature made visible, from the microscopic to the extraterrestrial, from our fondest hopes to our deepest fears. We travel through space and time, through dreams and narratives, on the borders of photography and computer generated imagery.

Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen, The Netherlands - Main Venue
www.museumbelvedere.nl
Tel: +31 (0)513 - 644 999
Opening hours: 
Tuesday trough Sunday, 11 am - 5 pm


ANCILLARY VENUE - MUSEUM DR8888
The fifth chapter Urban Jungle is to be seen in the art and cultural-historical Museum Dr8888. Enclaves of green make the urban environment more liveable. From garden plots to parks, from growing your own food to a single house plant, we draw the landscape into the city. Artificial or not, it appeals to a deep desire.

Museum Dr8888, Drachten, The Netherlands,
www.museumdrachten.nl
Tel: + 31 (0)512 – 515647
Opening hours: 
Tuesday trough Sunday, 11 am - 5 pm



ANCILLARY VENUE - MUSEUM WILLEM VAN HAREN

The multi-faceted Willem van Haren Museum is showing the sixth chapter: Untamed. Man has tamed nature and cultivated it according to his own insights, but the total domination of nature remains an illusion. Hurricanes, tsunamis, forest fires and earthquakes remind us of that. Although nature lets itself be moulded, it is capable of unleashing forces against which man's strength pales.

Museum Willem van Haren, Heerenveen, The Netherlands
www.willemvanharen.nl
Tel: + 31 (0)513 – 623 408
Opening hours: 
Tuesday through Sunday 11 am - 5 pm


ANCILLARY VENUE - BLOKHUISPOORT
The former prison Blokhuispoort in Leeuwarden hosts The Harmony between Man and Heaven: Experimental Landscapes from China, curated by Alfred Dong. This exhibition is an appendix to the main exhibition Terra Cognita.
Chinese landscape photography is deeply influenced by China's traditional landscape art, with its iconic compositions and emphasis on the harmony between man and nature. In contrast, in the experimental photography that curator Alfred Dong has assembled, it is precisely the difficult marriage between tradition and modernity, and feelings of loss and confusion, that are central.

Blokhuispoort, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
www.blokhuisportal.nl
Opening hours: Tuesday through Sunday 11 am - 5 pm


CATALOGUE Terra Cognita
The catalogue with images by the 115 fotographers participating in the Noorderlicht International Photofestival Terra Cognita can be obtained at the Noorderlichtwebshop www.noorderlicht.com/en/shop/books/terra-cognita/.
Softcover, fullcolor | 17 x 24 cm | 256 pages | Dutch/English


Noorderlicht Photography
Akerkhof 12
9711 JB Groningen
The Netherlands
info@noorderlicht.com
+31(0)50 - 318 22 27
http://www.noorderlicht.com