Anne Daems

In the winter of 2005, Belgian photographer Anne Daems lived in New York City for six months as a Resident of the International Studio and Curatorial Program. In this small book of street photography, Daems focuses her lens on young New Yorkers, captured unawares--on the sidewalks of Soho, in the subway, under scaffolding, in traffic, and through shop windows. These delicate surveillance snapshots raise questions about voyeurism, youth, conventional beauty and how we tend to classify strangers. They are accompanied by an interview between Daems and artist Dan Graham, whose work also deals with surveillance:
DG: Well, your work is about people. You're interested in people, aren't you?
AD: Mmmmm.
GD: You're not interested in technique, like Gursky.
AD: No, not at all.
DG: Basically in normal people. But how normal are people?
(both start laughing)
AD: Well, the nicest people are a bit abnormal.

What do you pay attention to? The sublime of everyday life and the confusion of public and private are the stuff of Anne Daems' art work. In her video work, photography and drawings she explores the enigma that is the discrepancy between what is shown and what is described, allowing absence to define both the limits and the infinite possibilities of representation.