In the house

In the house (1994) by Berend Strik takes as its subject the most fundamental of human shelters — the house, the domestic space where life happens, where families form and dissolve, where daily rituals of eating, sleeping, and being together unfold.

Strik's photographs of domestic interiors and the objects within them connect to a long tradition in Dutch art — from Pieter de Hooch's interior scenes to the intimate domestic photography of the Beutler collection. The house is both physical structure and psychological space.

By adding textile interventions to images of domestic spaces, Strik adds warmth and physical presence to spaces that might otherwise feel cold or merely architectural. The fabric layers seem to wrap the interior in additional protection — making the house even more of a home.

The phrase "in the house" also functions as a statement of possession and belonging — this is my territory, my space, my place in the world.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters