Jose Pasmans
Meet Jose Pasmans, a WOW resident and talented photographer whose work, Cocoon, has found a temporary home at WOW.
by WOW Amsterdam
Can you tell us more about yourself and your work?
I studied at the Foto Academie in Amsterdam and graduated last year. Photography is always the starting point in my work, but I don’t often stay within the two-dimensions. I want to show a process and visualize a transformation within the touchable image that illustrates the content of the concept.
In my photography and installations, I try to revert the two-dimensional images back into the third dimension by using layers, light, and all kinds of materials. I sometimes even use sculpting techniques to make the images move or transform in front of your eyes. The images on my website are mostly photographic reproductions of the real touchable work which sometimes consists of multiple layers, hand treated materials or prints.
Can you identify themes in your work?
In my projects I look for different points of view within a theme. In search of the essence and connections within the theme, I’m driven by an inexhaustible curiosity. I collect, experiment, discover, experience, and keep asking myself new questions that I then try to find the answers to.
Themes in my work include how we (humans) cope with things that pass and try to preserve things that can’t be preserved. Vulnerability and the use of layers and depth (visible and in content) are consistent in my work. Most of all, I’m interested in the psychological systems of our minds. All the work has a root in questions that I’ve asked. The more I try to find answers, the more questions come up. It’s an endless cycle that forms my engine.
Why are you involved in WOW? What interested you?
I met the team of WOW at my graduation show last year. They were interested in my presentation and purchased the work, Cocoon. The work will be given a place in WOW. I’m really exited to be living here because I believe it can be a lively meeting place that stimulates cross-fertilization between artists, guests and the neighbourhood.
What are you most looking forward to being part of WOW?
It would be great to organize workshops for young people in the neighbourhood. As a teacher (CKV and Dutch) at a high school in Utrecht, I have gained a lot of experience in that area. I have a great passion to motivate young people to discover their own qualities and expand them.
When is the last time you said “wow”?
When students of mine participated in a talent show at the school where I work. I had goose bumps and stood proudly looking at their (sometimes hidden) talents, courage, individuality and creativity.
I believe WOW can be a lively meeting place that stimulates crossfertilization between artists, guests and the neighborhood.
