Student Marlene photographs students and their belongings: 'The Things We Keep'

Two years ago, she moved from Germany to Enschede to study Creative Media and Game Technologies at Saxion. Whereas in the first year of the study she was mainly occupied with following the mandatory subjects, in the second year she got the chance to experiment. Besides gaming, she liked to take photographs, as a hobby. Marlene: “And now it has become the focus during my studies."

Own interpretation

‘The Things We Keep’, is written in large on the poster promoting the exhibition that opens Thursday on Epy Drost's sixth floor. A pair of sunglasses, a euro, a crystal, playing cards and about 10 other random objects make up a collage. Who do these items belong to? And more importantly, what do these items say about the owner? We don't get an answer to that last question from her. Marlene: "This is left completely open to your own interpretation."

Through her Instagram, she put out a call, drumming up fourteen students. The assignment: bring stuff you carry with you on a daily basis, or something that means a lot to you. Marlene: "Some simply turned their pockets inside out and threw their stuff on the table, while others had thought very carefully about it and had a story to go with everything."

She scanned the items the students carried with them using a printer she brought to school herself. "The printer at Saxion didn't quite give me the results I was going for, so I just took my huge printer myself," she said. 'Scanography,' is a form of photography in which objects are scanned in. From the scanned objects, she then made a collage.

In addition to the collage, she also made a portrait of the owner of the items. And that was a challenge, she says. Because she normally only does street photography, or landscapes. "It was the first time I had to photograph so many faces. So that was uncomfortable."

Uncomfortable

Not only was it uncomfortable for her, but also for the students she put on the chair in front of the camera." I wanted to make sure they weren't uncomfortable, so in addition to my research on lighting and framing, I also researched how to coach people in front of your camera and bring out the best in them."

She made the photo series for her personal portfolio, which is a subject within the course. Photography has always been a hobby, but it was only recently that she realised that this is what she loves doing most. "And luckily there is also enough space within the course to focus on this now," she says.

She feels very grateful that people outside her own circle now also have the opportunity to admire her work at the exhibition space. "It is nice that there is a place for students to show their work, and in doing so inspire others as well."