Altered Landscapes: Dutch photographer René Clement explores Egypt's White Desert, fractals

Dina Said, Thursday 19 Dec 2024

Dutch photographer René Clement has explored Egypt's landscapes and passage of time through digital collage and visual manipulation in a new solo exhibition titled Altered Landscapes, held at Zamalek's Tintera Gallery.

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The Cairo-based Clement has already held several exhibitions, including two in Tintera alone.

This time, he returns with two new series: Fractals Arabesque (2021–2024) and White Desert  Black Nights (2019–2024), highlighting the artist's evolving approach to capturing the essence of nature and time.

Fractals Arabesque: Beauty in details
 

Fractals in nature and Islamic geometry are known for their infinite complexity and symmetrical repetition. They create visual harmony that promotes relaxation and well-being.

In Fractals Arabesque, Clement reimagines flowers as geometric fractals, meditatively responding to global political and climate challenges.

The artist digitally extracts and arranges flowers into overlapping, symmetrical layers, producing kaleidoscopic compositions that pulse with energy.

Unlike his earlier series Insomnia (2022), where interwoven tree branches symbolized restless sleep, this series of photographs evokes tranquillity, focusing on balance, harmony, and spiritual perfection.

 

 
White Desert – Black Nights: Otherworldly scenes
 

For Clement, the desert is a space for contemplation. He transforms Egypt's White Desert into a lunar-like landscape through long, multiple-night exposures.

This series, which spans six years and two trips, highlights the rock formations in ways that accentuate their unique characteristics.

By combining multiple exposures, Clement captures intricate details of the sands, rocks, and skies, creating surreal yet serene compositions.

These desert scenes, free from light pollution and human interference, offer a moment of reflection, inviting viewers to appreciate nature's transformative power and be awed by its vastness.

 


 

Bridging photojournalism and fine art
 

Clement, born in the Netherlands in 1962, is a photojournalist and fine art photographer.

After documenting American life, including a five-year project on Dutch settlers in Iowa and New York City after 9/11, Clement shifted his focus to landscape photography, exploring themes of energy and time.

Since relocating to Cairo in 2018, Clement has focused on the Egyptian landscape, particularly in his ongoing series "I Feel the Earth Move." This series blends digital collages and multi-layered images to visualize time within Egypt's natural and urban environments.

Clement co-founded the Borax Foundation for Photography in the Netherlands and contributed to the ANP – Hollandse Hoogte Agency in Amsterdam.

His works have earned widespread recognition, including Time Magazine's Picture of the Year and awards from the Zilveren Camera competition.

Altered Landscapes continues to captivate art lovers. It showcases Clement’s mastery of blending digital art and nature to create compelling visual narratives.

 

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