Artist Mo Verlaan
As an analogue photographer, I see the negative as the starting point. The image then undergoes a long process of experimentation and manipulation. I use a combination of alternative techniques, collages and hand colouring to make the intangible tangible. In late 2022, I lost my wife, Nita — my great love, muse, and artistic partner. During the final two years of her life, we collaborated intensely to document our lives and love through portraits, landscapes, collages, and poems. Together, we developed the concept for a significant photographic installation about dead and living olive trees in Puglia. The ancient olive trees died from a bacterium, which became a powerful metaphor for our situation.
For this year's Pride Art Route, I will present new work inspired by my last three artist books: Blank (2024), Scattering Light (2025) and Silver Girl (2026). These were created during my artist residencies at Château du Fresne in France. Through these books, I explore the traces of love left behind after losing the love of my life, adding depth to my fragile memories. Visualising these raw feelings of grief helps clear my mind and restore beauty to my life.