Ilse Leenders

film - photography - performance

My work draws upon historical and cultural research, focusing on Eastern philosophies. I intervene in landscapes and cityscapes, using (artificial) nature as a 'stage' to construct a contemporary story. An interplay between imagination and reality emerges, often composed of self-made artefacts, ready-made objects and human characters. These tableaux are staged as performances and captured in photography and film.

Sen no Rikyu (Zen- and Tea Master 1522–1591) teaches that wild flowers growing in nature are truly beautiful and precious, but that the flowers for Tea are meaningful only when their individual beauty is successfully captured and expressed in an arrangement. As in Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), I create detailed staged scenes in which people, objects and their surroundings are carefully balanced and arranged.

  • Portfolio
  • Activities
  • Contact

    • Artist in Residence at Akiyoshidai International Art Village

    Residencies / exchange

    • 09-01-2017 t/m 31-03-2017
    • Location: Akiyoshidai International Art Village, Akiyoshidai, Japan
    • https://aiav.jp/en/

    Artist in Residence at Gyeonggi Creation Center

    Residencies / exchange

    Artist in Residence at Djerassi Resident Artists Program

    Residencies / exchange

    • 01-09-2009 t/m 30-09-2009
    • In collaboration with: Maurits Giesen
    • Location: Djerassi Resident Artists Program, CA, USA
    • https://djerassi.org/

    Artist in Residence at Tokyo Wonder Site

    Residencies / exchange

    Artist in Residence at Van Doesburghuis

    Residencies / exchange

    Wandering Flock: A Bodily Experience in Unison

    Performance

    • 13-02-2017 t/m 13-02-2017
    • In collaboration with: Akiyoshidai International Art Village; Yusuke Fujisawa, Chie Morishita, Nozomi Shiota and Tosso Watanabe
    • Location: Yamaguchi University by the members of the Aikido club and the Karate-do club of Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
    • This is a registration of a group of students in Japan that performed and experienced the Wandering Flock. With the Wandering Flock I have developed a method where -through a bodily experience- internal and external senses are being addressed on a personal and collective level within a group of participants. The movements of flocking starlings inspired me to create the exercise. The goal of the Wandering Flock is to conduct a moment of collective flow.
    • https://vimeo.com/234996433

    Acknowledgments

      Scholarship

    • CBK Center for Visual Art Rotterdam NL - R and D grant (Research and Development Grant)

    • 2011
      Scholarship

    • Fund Kwadraat NL

    • 2013
      Scholarship

    • Mondriaan Fund NL - Contribution to working budget

    • 2008
      Scholarship

    • Mondriaan Fund NL – Starting stipend

    • 2005
      Pricing

    • PANL Awards #12 NL – Members Choice Award

    • 2003
      Pricing

    • PANL Awards #15 NL – Silver Award

    • 2006
      Pricing

    • PANL Awards #15 NL – Best of Members Award

    • 2006
      Pricing

    • PANL Awards #17 NL – Nomination

    • 2008
      Pricing

    • Hyeres International Photography Competition FR – Longlisted

    • 2009
      Pricing

    • IPA International Photography Awards USA – Honorable Mention

    • 2009
      Pricing

    • 50th Annual Photography Exhibition Communication Arts USA – Award of Excellence

    • 2009
      Pricing

    • Viewbook PhotoStory NL – 2nd Jury Prize Conceptual Photography

    • 2009
      Pricing

    • The Johanna and Tom Baruch Honorary Fellowship Award USA

    • 2009
      Pricing

    • Dutch Doc Award NL – Longlisted

    • 2010
      Pricing

    • Construction in Beeldprijs NL – Nomination

    • 2010
      Pricing

    • Fotosommer Stuttgart DE – Nomination Award Show

    • 2010
      Pricing

    • Top 20 SCREENing Awards DE – Nomination

    • 2010
      Pricing

    • Winner Crowdfunding Pitch – De Donkere Kamer Rotterdam #02 NL

    • 2014
      Collection

    • Lease plan Netherlands

    • 2012,
      Collection

    • Center for Visual Arts Amsterdam

    • 2010, Amsterdam
      Collection

    • Mondrian House

    • 2009, Amersfoort
      Collection

    • Korn Ferry International Amsterdam

    • 2012, Amsterdam
      Collection

    • Private Collections

    • , Netherlands, France, South Korea
      Collection

    • Kunstuitleen Rotterdam

    • 2010, Rotterdam
      Publication

    • In the Temple of the Self, The artist's residence as a total work of art, Villa Stuck

    • 2013
    • Hantje Catz Verlag - Villa Stuck
      Publication

    • Im Laboratorium der Moderne, Das Atelierwohnung von Theo van Doesburg in Meudon

    • 2011
    • gta Verlag Zurich - Matthias Noell
      Publication

    • Spectrum 'A Book full of Color'

    • 2014
    • - Index book