aram tanis

VERHOEF / TANIS Isolation, standardization and the mass-produced are important themes in our work. We also think it is important to make people aware and confront them with subjects they often pass by or ignore. Important motifs in our work are the buildings and the urban landscape. For us both they are a symbol of what is happening in the world. In our society there is less time for one another and people are more distant. The repetition and rhythm of the recurring form in buildings and neighborhoods are a symbol for the anonymity of the contemporary urban environment and the isolation of the people who live in it. It can also be seen as a critique on the mass produced. For this theme we have traveled to Beijing, Gyeongju, Hong Kong, Macau, Seoul, Tokyo and Xiamen over the last 8 years. Our work about people or everyday objects refer also to this theme. What we want to show is the less attractive side of (family) life. The media inundates us with sex and stereotypes. People need to meet a certain standard to be found 'beautiful'. One must keep a certain lifestyle, which is 'accepted' and 'normal'. The media determines what is beautiful and how people judge things. It provides a standardization in society, from identical shopping malls to the 'idealization' of the human body. In our work we want to show the other side and go beyond the faí§ade. Verhoef / Tanis is a collaboration between Jacolijn Verhoef and Aram Tanis