About

Hans Bol (Amsterdam, 1957) is a Dutch photographer.

I have often focused on photographing the landscape, in particular landscapes that are damaged by human activity. With that in mind I have photographed the marble quarries around Carrara (It.) for years. The landscape in that region is destroyed slowly, methodologically, completely and irreversibly.  But I was also struck positively by its history, the light in the quarries and the beauty of the industrial process.

I have also traveled extensively through the US, with a similar mindset. Also, there I look for the violated landscape, that evokes critical thinking and reflection, that makes one humble and shows traces of human presence. The arcadian landscape on the other hand is pleasant to be in, but very seldom makes me use my camera.

In addition to travels through the US I also visited India extensively. It is not possible that India does not touch you; life, in all its variations is so emphatically present that you are drawn in. Lots of life presents itself out in the open, on the streets, visible for everyone; in India, both life and death is always near, one can say.  Enormous numbers of Indians are underway because many feel obliged, due to their religion, to visit more than one holy place in their life. When going through India one almost feels the immensity of the country and the incredible number of people. I have always felt safe.

Over the years I have always seen portraits – but not always made them, mostly due to a sort of modesty. In recent years that has changed and am I more open to do it. I try to find an entrance with those people that touch me. Good portraits are not limited to time, place or age. Most of the time I just run into one; coincidental, more or less. I feel if an interesting portrait is hiding somewhere and try to bring that to the surface. In portraits, ‘intactness’ or beauty is not something that interests me a lot. Like in the landscapes that draw my interest, I like to see the traces that life leaves in a person;  to me, that makes somebody worthwhile to photograph.