Studio visit: Vivian Ammerlaan
◼︎ Studio Visit: Vivian Ammerlaan
23 March 2026 · by Marlike Marks
© Marlike Marks
With Unseen coming up, I also visited Vivian Ammerlaan in her studio. It’s a space that feels very much like her: calm, structured, and focused. At the same time, everywhere you look there’s something to discover: large works on the walls, shelves with materials, and collected objects like shells and stones. Fragments, experiments, and works in different stages are spread throughout the space.
Vivian and I have known each other for a few years now. Our paths crossed a couple of times before we started working together more closely, eventually leading to her solo exhibition Waanplekken at Ballon Rouge in 2024. Since then, things have grown quite naturally. Looking at where we are now, preparing for Unseen, it feels like a continuation of something that was already there.
© Marlike Marks
What I’ve always found special about Vivian’s work is how it takes you somewhere else. Her images don’t document a specific place, but evoke landscapes that feel familiar, like something you recognise, but can’t quite place. For me, it brings a kind of stillness, a reminder of what actually matters, and how much of everything else is just noise.
Her process plays a big role in that feeling. Vivian works with analogue techniques, often choosing methods where she doesn’t have full control. Cyanotype, chemistry, light: there’s always an element of unpredictability. We spoke about how important that is for her, not knowing exactly what the outcome will be, and allowing the material to lead.
© Marlike Marks
Some of the works even start from what could be seen as mistakes. In one of her larger cyanotypes, the scale made the process difficult to control, with traces of uneven chemicals, marks left by drying and exposure. But instead of correcting them, those elements became essential to the image. They add texture and depth to the work.
That way of working has been there from the beginning. When she was still studying and didn’t have the means to travel to the mountains she wanted to photograph, she built one herself. What started as a temporary solution, eventually became the starting point of her ongoing series Waanplekken.
At the same time, there’s a strong sense of direction in everything she does. Vivian knows very well what she wants, and what belongs to her work. Not everything needs to be followed or pursued. There’s a kind of focus and calm decision-making in that, which I think is rare, and something I respect a lot.
The new works she will present at Unseen were inspired by her travels through the Rocky Mountains in 2025, she developed a series of large-format cyanotypes. Using negatives of imagined landscapes and toning the prints with tea and coffee, deep blues and earthy browns come together in images that feel both vast and intimate. The traces of the process; stains, edges, small irregularities, remain visible, almost like a record of how the image came to be.
© Marlike Marks
When I think about why I wanted to bring Vivian’s work to Unseen, it comes back to that balance. Between control and letting go, between structure and experiment. The images don’t try to explain themselves. They simply exist, and invite you to slow down, get lost, and to wander.
Curious to see the works in person? We’ll be presenting Vivian Ammerlaan’s work at Unseen Photo, part of Art Rotterdam, in Ahoy this week.