IBASHO

IBASHO is delighted to present the work of the Dutch photographic artist Margaret Lansink at SPARK. Who we are is often determined by our social environment and (family) history. How we build our self-esteem, often determines how we look to the outside world and how we react to the other and to the inevitable changes in live. In her work, Lansink (b. 1961) explores these relationships, trying to bridge the personal and universal, and often inspired by Japanese philosophies such as wabi-sabi (the beauty of the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete) and ma (a concept on empty space). The way she photographs is purely intuitive; her images present an open and honest reflection of her own inner emotions at a certain time, space and interaction. Shot as self-portraits in the broadest sense of the word. With this intuitive way of photography she invites the viewer to embark on a journey through his-her own intricate web of memories, emotions, expectations, fears and desires. Giving the images the freedom to act as an overflow from reality to dream and vice versa. Lansink uses various mainly analogue cameras to capture the different atmospheres of her inner emotions. More and more Lansink experiments with her images, with making collages, using paint, gold leaf, charcoal as well as with liquid light and platinum palladium in the darkroom. At SPARK Lansink’s works from four series are exhibited, which one could say are inspired by the concept of the beauty of imperfection and impermanence: Borders of Nothingness – On the Mend (2017 – 2021) Concept of Ma (2019) Body maps (2019) Friction (2022)

Margaret Lansink is a fine art photographer who works and lives in a tiny village just above Amsterdam. Lansink received a BA from the PhotoAcademy in Amsterdam, studied for a year at LeMasterklass Paris and at Smedsby Atelier in Paris. The works of Lansink have been awarded the Grand Prize of Hariban Award 2019, and have been shortlisted for Gomma Grant 2018. In 2018 her work was shortlisted for Fotofilmic18 and Athens Photofestival and was part of Reclaim Photography Festival in Wolverhampton UK. Lansink participates in exhibitions, residencies and competitions in Holland and abroad. Her work has been shown in LA, Paris, Antwerp, New York, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tbilisi, Vancouver, Amsterdam etc. In 2016 she has been rewarded with an AIR with the Kaunas Gallery in Lithuania and in 2017 with Shiro Oni Studio in Japan; both for her on-going project The Kindness of One. In 2019 she has been rewarded with an AIR at Benrido Atelier Kyoto for winning the Hariban Award 2019 with her series Borders of Nothingness – On the Mend. Margaret Lansink has published eight books (4 of them handmade by herself). ‘The Kindness of One’ has been awarded with Best Dutch Book Designs 2019 and is part of the collection of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Bookstore now. Her books ‘Borders of Nothingness – On the Mend’ as well as ‘The Kindness on One’ are part of the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A video of her series Fear no More and a podcast about her series Borders of Nothingness – On the Mend is part of the collection of Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum Georgia. Margaret is member of FemmesPHOTOgraphes Paris and member-founder of iwi_collective. Additionally, she often coaches young photographers in developing their signature and portfolio.

IBASHO means ‚a place where you can be yourself‘ in Japanese. IBASHO is a gallery in Antwerp that opened her doors in March 2015, showing fine art Japanese photography ranging from works by well-known Japanese photographers to younger contemporary Japanese artists as well as works from Western photographers who were inspired by Japan. IBASHO hopes to show the versatility and beauty of Japanese photography in its many guises, from the raw and unpolished to the minimalist and still. As photo books are an important medium for presenting photography in Japan, IBASHO also deals in new and antiquarian Japanese photo books. Recently IBASHO has started publishing its own photo books together with Paris-based publisher the(M) éditions.