Jet Siemons

fotografie , Artistiek onderzoek , Archieven

Jet Siemons (The Hague, 1995) is a (re)search photographer focusing on myths, mysteries, the unseen & the forgotten. Through extensive investigation her projects take form; documenting ‘evidence’, following traces and maps, collecting archival material & objects.

Playful interactions in both the analog and digital realm create poetic new narratives. One from the perspective of the unseen, challenging our collective memory. She does so by using techniques like drawing, sewing, collage making, and optical illusions. The goal is to enhance understanding, ignite our curiosity, and unveil hidden stories. Her stories balance between fiction and realism, investigating the grey areas of truth, and creating space for what was forgotten. The foundation of her search throughout her work is revisiting the magical, childlike mind she nostalgically seeks. In 2023, Jet graduated with from the Photography Bachelors at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KABK), The Hague.

Based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

**The search for the Invisible Women – Matilda of Normandy** - A collection of (folk)stories about female ghosts in Europe. In this personal search for the Invisible Women I dig into how their stories are constructed, what makes a ghost. The goal is to visit them, to get to know them; What is the story behind these women, who were they and what is there still to be found about them? How are they still present in the memory of the landscapes? -check out my website for the full story-

**The Invisible Women- Sunniva of Norway** - A collection of (folk)stories about female ghosts in Europe. In this personal search for the Invisible Women I dig into how their stories are constructed, what makes a ghost. The goal is to visit them, to get to know them; What is the story behind these women, who were they and what is there still to be found about them? How are they still present in the memory of the landscapes? -check out my website for the full story-

**The Invisible Women- De witte dame van Brugge** - A collection of (folk)stories about female ghosts in Europe. In this personal search for the Invisible Women I dig into how their stories are constructed, what makes a ghost. The goal is to visit them, to get to know them; What is the story behind these women, who were they and what is there still to be found about them? How are they still present in the memory of the landscapes? -check out my website for the full story-

**The search for the Invisible Women- Catharina de geest van Den Haag** - A collection of (folk)stories about female ghosts in Europe. In this personal search for the Invisible Women I dig into how their stories are constructed, what makes a ghost. The goal is to visit them, to get to know them; What is the story behind these women, who were they and what is there still to be found about them? How are they still present in the memory of the landscapes? -check out my website for the full story-

**The Search For The Invisible Women- 2023 KABK Gradshow Photography BA** - The search for The Invisible Women project started with my graduation project about the folktales of the Witte Wieven, the forgotten spirits who once were wise women living in the forests of the East of the Netherlands. I have been visiting the specific places of the folktales where the women are being mentioned and searched for clues of what was left of them in the landscapes of my rational-driven country the Netherlands. These landscapes, waters, trees, and rocks were once sacred places for people to connect to the spirits of the forests, by performing rituals, sacrifices or just by being there. Many of these landscapes and bodies of nature have been taken away from the places where they belong, like the big rock in Oldenzaal that was brought from its hill in the forest to the church, to stop the belief in these spirits. Luckily there are also still some magical places left, although hidden and rarely mentioned. At the same time the belief in the wise women (the witte wieven), started to fade away in our history. Framed like evil, scary witches their misty appearance might be a residue of what they once were. But if you visit these places you will see they are still there. You can hear them in the leaves and see them in the water. They are their landscapes, their surroundings, in the pebbles, rocks, the twigs and the soil. They will keep you curious, bring back the childlike mind, wondering about what else there is on this world that we can’t see. But we will have to remember them, visit them, and talk about them for if we will not, they will be lost forever.

**CULT=US x de Zolder x Anda – Building Bridges Group Exhibition** - 13 april - 27 mei 2024

**TRAIL- the found photoalbum project for Arti et Amicitiae Amsterdam** - This is my search for the people in the album I found in a secondhand store in Rotterdam. I bought it for 7,50. The album dates from 1939, and it shows a beautiful documentation of a trip two people from Rotterdam made to the French Alps. Investigating the entire album for years now, I found out some images are in fact postcards they send to addresses in a neighborhood in Rotterdam. The same where I grew up. They sign the cards with the names ‘Hannie’ and ‘Billo’ and tell their (what I think is their) family about their adventures but also just to let them know they are doing alright. I recognize these images nostalgically, as we as a family also went hiking in the same area every year. Days and nights together with this album I entered a world I seem to recognize but decades before I was born. It made me want to find out as much as possible about them. Finding family trees in the Rotterdam Archive, the places they traveled to, their family houses, huts they stayed at, obituary’s, new names and more make this search expanding all the time. Like a time traveling scavenger hunt in my own city. Their lives and mine start to intertwine, and slowly it feels as if we took this trip together and our memories are merging. It makes me question how memories are stored, and when a memory is not a memory anymore when there is no one living anymore to remember it. How can I remember a memory that is not mine? The goal of this investigation is to find out everything that happened to the album and its owners up until the moment I found it in the store. I invite you to investigate with me; if you happen to know more about these people, please contact me on hmg.siemons@gmail.com. If you would like to have more information (because there is much more) about this search visit my website www.jetsiemons.com or follow this journey on my Instagram (JetSiemons).

**Ghost tour Den Haag - Catharina le Chasseur 2024** - De Catharina Tour is een verhalende wandeling door het centrum van Den Haag, waarin de stad wordt gelezen als drager van herinneringen en vrouwelijke geesten. De tour volgt het spoor van Catharina le Chasseur, een figuur die balanceert tussen historische persoon en spookverhaal, verbonden aan plekken als de Gevangenpoort en het Spaanse Hof. Tijdens mijn studie begon ik te zoeken naar spookverhalen in Den Haag. Die zoektocht leidde naar Catharina en naar verhalen over onverklaarbare gebeurtenissen in historische gebouwen. Catharina zou afkomstig zijn uit Orléans en in 1507 een jonge rechtenstudent hebben ontmoet. Jaren later wordt zij gelinkt aan beschuldigingen van valsemunterij. Wat feit is en wat verbeelding blijft onduidelijk; haar verhaal bestaat uit fragmenten en aannames. Tijdens de wandeling bewegen we langs plekken waar haar aanwezigheid wordt gesitueerd. De stad fungeert daarbij als archief. In mijn werk The Search for the Invisible Women onderzoek ik hoe vrouwelijke geesten worden verbeeld: vaak mooi, kwetsbaar en beschreven door mannen. De Catharina Tour vertelt dit verhaal opnieuw, vanuit een vrouwelijk perspectief, zonder het mysterie te ontkrachten, maar om ruimte te maken voor verbeelding, twijfel en empathie.

Het Witte Wieven Archief- Rotterdam Photo

Datum: 16-05-2025 t/m 25-02-2025

Locatie: Museum park, Rotterdam

In samenwerking met: Rotterdam Photo, Amarte

Wandeling - de geest van Den Haag

Datum: 21-11-2024 t/m 21-11-2024

Locatie: Den Haag centrum

Met een groep van 6 zijn we langs de plekken gelopen waar de geest van Den Haag nog zou rond spoken. Aan de hand van 'bewijs mapjes' met foto's, archief beeld uit 1500 en meer vertelde ik het verhaal van de vrouw Catharina , die honderden later bekend zal worden als de geest van Den Haag. Haar verhaal is uniek voor haar tijd en het herinneren waard.

Exhibition The Search for the Invisible Women

Datum: 19-04-2024 t/m 27-05-2024

Locatie: CULT=US

In samenwerking met: De Zolder, ANDA, Cult=Us

From 13.4.2024 till 25.5.2024 Building Bridges the exhibition (organised and curated by de Zolder and Anda) is on show at café Cult=Us, Rotterdam. Alongside other great artists from Rotterdam, I have been given the opportunity to show new work from the project “The search for the Invisible Women”, combined with new research.

https://www.jetsiemons.com/news-blog/de-zolder-x-anda-building-bridges

Hannie & Billo - the found photoalbum project

Datum: 13-03-2024 t/m 12-04-2024

Locatie: Arti & Amicitae

In samenwerking met: Arti & Amicitae

At the SPROUTS exhibition for Arti & Amicitae I’m showing a process I have been in for years; Trail, the found photoalbum project. The exhibition consists of posters, images, postcards and a box containing more images and a secret map. The images shown are part of my research about who the people from the album are, but as well a mixture and collaboration of our images together (me, Hannie and Billo).

The search for the Invisible Women

Datum: 24-06-2023 t/m 02-07-2023

Locatie: Den Haag, KABK

Afstudeer onderzoek naar het verdwenen verhaal van de witte wieven in het oosten van Nederland; wie waren deze vrouwen, waar wonen ze, bestaan ze echt en hoe hebben we ze onthouden in ons collectief geheugen? De expositie was een verzameling van beeld materiaal, bewijs, verzamelde objecten, een essay en een fotoboek.

https://www.jetsiemons.com/news-blog/graduationshow-2023-kabk

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