Let them shine

Let them shine (2024) by Berend Strik is an imperative — a command to allow something or someone to emit light, to be visible, to be recognized.

Light has been a fundamental concern of art since the earliest cave paintings — the manipulation of light and shadow to create the illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface. Strik's textile interventions add actual physical light-capturing surfaces (sheen of silk, translucency of organza) to photographs.

"Let them shine" could be a plea for recognition — let these people, these objects, these moments be seen and appreciated. It could also be an instruction to the viewer: allow yourself to be illuminated, to see what needs to be seen.

The plural "them" is deliberately ambiguous: who or what is being addressed? The title invites the viewer to fill in the blank.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters