Memories of the non-existent – Popel Coumou & Torch Gallery on Art Island IJmuiden

Photography captures, documents, feeds the memory with recollections… For many people, this is the very essence of the medium, or at least the basis on which they judge it. This is not quite the case for Popel Coumou, to whom photography is only a starting point.

Humans create spaces to work, to dwell, to live in. Where to spend time, alone or with many, to feel at ease. Alongside nature, we build our own landscape, spaces we prefer to describe with a possessive pronoun: OUR space.

It is precisely this space that fascinates Popel Coumou (1978). Since the start of her career in 2004, she has captured places in high-contrast colours with an emphasis on light. In her work, people are present only exceptionally, and even then usually very fleetingly, a passing figure, a humanoid shadow.

The emphasis lies on space as a subject. It is a constant, and her oeuvre has undergone a slow, almost deliberate development. Images from her early period could be described as ‘realistic’, and this evolves into unique abstract three-dimensional works. Unique in terms of her own style and visual language, and equally unique in terms of edition and character. Her style is recognisable, a signature

“Everything is just perception,” as the saying goes and this certainly seems to apply to Popel Coumou’s work. Her pieces are very tangible, yet at the same time they are nothing but an illusion somewhat like the work of the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher (1898–1972). With the ‘Perception’ series, Coumou creates her own memories, an imaginary reality based on a fleeting photographic image.

You can discover her work at Art Island, which is a unique location: Forteiland (Fortress Island), also known as the Fort of IJmuiden. It formed part of the fortifications surrounding Amsterdam and was commissioned in 1888 to protect the port of IJmuiden. In 1929, the canal was widened, leaving the fort on an island. Next weekend, you can visit thirty galleries, including well-known photography galleries such as Contour Gallery, GALERIE Caroline O’Breen, Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen and Torch.

Friday 22 May from 3.00 pm to 8.00 pm
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm
To reach the island, a ferry departs from Sluisplein 78, IJmuiden.
https://art-island.nl/

For those interested in the work of Popel Coumou, we recommend the following publication. It offers an insight into the early phase of her work and certainly helps in appreciating what she is presenting now.
Untitled – Popel Coumou, Design by Willem van Zoetendaal, Essay by Emiel van der Pol, 136 pages, Softcover, Amsterdam, Torch Gallery & van Zoetendaal Publishers.

John Devos

Johndevos.photo (a) gmail.com