(working title)
Rapproche Tromsø
Application for artist residency at Troms fylkeskultursenter
1.0 Application summary
Revealing light and hidden dynamics of unremarkable places in a geographically remarkable place.
Tromsø Rapproche is a fine-art photography series exploring the city’s gradual reawakening as the sun returns after months of darkness. Through photographic landscape collages the project deconstructs and reconstructs place, time, light, and atmosphere. By day-long observations, repeatedly photographing from the exact same spot, and then physically bringing all those moments together in one new collaged image, subtle changes in each scene are discovered. Making matter visible and tangible that would otherwise remain hidden. Not of the well known landmarks or nature’s grandeur but the more unremarkable often overlooked in-between places in and around Tromsø where buildings, infrastructure, snow and light meet. Highlighting the relationship between this human-made urban environment and the embrace needed to coexist in this intense and overpowering arctic climate.
The work builds on my earlier project Rapproche 01 and Rapproche Oosterdokskade in which I photographed the same location at regular intervals for up to a twelve hour period. I then printed, cut and reassembled the images into a single composite photograph of the exact same scene revealing a new reality. I will use a similar process for this project and develop it into a series. Contextually the work builds on work called Sun-day and Arctic Living which were made in Tromsø in 2025.
Research at Perspektivet Museum and Universitetsmuseet will help me place the work within Tromsø’s social, architectural and cultural history. I also hope to exchange and reflect ideas with Tromsø Kunstforening and local galleries to strengthen the concept and exchange ideas. The residency will result in a new body of original collage works and digital prints thereof, which I plan to present through exhibitions, publications and future collaborations.
This project will be self financed. However, grants and crowdfunding will be utilized to release some of the financial stress.
The Guest Studio at Troms Fylkeskultursenter is a perfect fit as it is located within the city of Tromsø. It will be a great basecamp for fieldwork in winter conditions and engage with local cultural and historical resources. I would kindly like to apply for an artist residency of 3 weeks from March 1st until March 22th 2027 (exact dates to be determined in consultation).
Note!: The ideal period for execution of this this concept and project would be:
15 February - 7 March 2027
Rapproche 01 (2025). Rapproche is a deconstruction and reconstruction of time and place. It captures time's essence through patience and observation. This handcrafted collage of eight photos represents 8 hours of observation and reveals the subtle changes in a serene forest edge over eight hours. It's an invitation to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with nature's rhythms.
2.0 Project Introduction
The seed for this project was planted during a visit to Tromsø in February 2025. Experiencing the returning and the changing winter light left a mark on me, wanting to look more closely at how the city is lived in through this seasonal transition. Rather than focusing on iconic views, I want to spend time with ordinary urban spaces, neighborhood edges, industrial areas and more mundane spaces like bus stops or where buildings, infrastructure, snow and light meet. In my practice, rapprochement describes a gradual encounter between myself and a place. I stay at a fixed viewpoint and observe how light, colour, weather and activity alter its appearance. The resulting combined image brings these separate moments together, not to document a single instant but to create a new way of seeing the place. In Tromsø, I want to explore what this sustained attention can reveal about the relationship between the city and its Arctic surroundings. The physical process of printing, cutting and reassembling the photographs extends this act of looking. It asks me to attend closely to each fragment and invites viewers to move between the whole image and its details. The series will develop from my earlier work in Tromsø, while allowing the city’s particular sites and conditions to shape the images.
Conceptual basis
The conceptual basis for this project is grounded and builds on previously developed images and projects. Technically and conceptually this series will be built on the ‘Rapproche Oosterdokskade’ project. The subject matter is loosely based on the ‘Sun-Day’ and ‘Arctic living’ series made in February 2025 in Tromsø, and on my general photographic practice.
I consciously choose an analogue post-processing method to extend the slowing down of the shooting process into the reconstruction of the scene. This forces me to be truly present and strengthens my bond with the details that emerge under my hands. My intention is that viewers, just as I did while creating the work, find space to slow down, observe and truly experience. The work is not merely a visual object; it is an invitation to take part in the rhythm of change, quiet contemplation and slow looking with the intention to experience rather than to explain.
3.0 Rapproche Oosterdokskade
“Rapproche Oosterdokskade” looks beyond the fleeting moment. In a world that is always in a hurry, where everything is only getting faster. It holds on to moments, discovers subtle changes in time, and makes matter visible and tangible that would otherwise remain hidden. It is my way of creating a deeper connection with our living environment.
The view is divided between the historical Basilica of Saint Nicholas Amsterdam and modern-day city life. A diptych of the heavenly and the earthly. A meeting of past and present, inertia and movement. A rapprochement, between the subject and myself. The landscape approaching me and I, in turn, approaching the landscape.
During the shooting process I observe, for an extended period, the changes in light, the play of colors, movements and behaviors of the scene in front of me. I do nothing but look and listen, without all the distractions of our time and without passing judgment. It is an experience of slowing down and deep observation. A re-encounter, between the landscape and myself.
For each part of this diptych I spent 12 hours on location. Every half hour I took an image from exactly the same position. I printed the results, cut them into small rectangles and reconstructed them into the same image, but new. Carefully assembling these fragments produces a coherent and believable image in which time is slowed down. From a distance, you see 12 hours at once. Up close, many small changes in detail and fragments of activity unfold.
title
year
edition
paper
Size
Frame
Glass
Rapproche Oosterdokskade
2026
01A
Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325gr
114 x 86 cm and 86 x 86 cm
Waxed Walnut
Museum Glass
Detail Rapproche Oosterdokskade
4.0 Sun-day and Arctic Living
This series was made while visiting Tromsø in February 2025. Witnessing the first rising of the sun over the horizon and the unique light, atmosphere and energy this brings to the city has left a lasting impression on me and forms the contextual basis for this new series.
“Sun-day” was captured on the day the sun finally peeks over the horizon again. It marks the return of the sun after three months of perpetual arctic darkness. The image focuses not on a grand landscape but on an industrial façade: corrugated blue wall, vents, utility boxes half-buried in powdery drifts. These mundane elements become quiet protagonists. The work captures the precise moment when people in the Arctic allow themselves to dream of summer again. Snow still covers the ground, yet the atmosphere of this work is that of a first summer thought: the air seems to soften, the colour temperature lifts, and the pastel light is warm, serene and settles on the landscape like a promise of things to come.
The work speaks of the freedom to dream, just as it becomes possible again—a blank canvas for the summer to come. It suggests that summer is, at heart, a state of mind: a dream we carry through the cold months, and a quiet, radiant moment when that dream first touches the horizon.
title
year
edition
paper
Size
Frame
Glass
Sun-day
2026
01-10 +2AP
Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325gr
80 x 60 cm or 100 x 75 cm
Waxed Oak
Museum Glass
"Arctic living” This small series explores aspects of urban living in an arctic region. How its architecture coexists with the harsh winter environment. It is also an example of exploration of the relationship between the human-made environments and their (natural) surroundings. Places that appear to be in-between two types of use: In this case the edges of residential areas.
This image was a finalist and an Honorable Mention in the Architecture category of the 2025 Berlin Photo Awards.
5.0 Residency with Troms fylkeskultursenter and regional connection
In preparation for the residency I will further develop and sharpen the concept, do more desk research on the cultural and psychological aspects of Mørketid and Soldagen and the way the city’s architecture, urbanism and social calendar are designed to embrace the dark and celebrate the light. For this I will contact the Universitetsmuseet and Perspektivet Museum.
Within the 3 weeks itself I will start out by doing further research on the urban development of the city of Tromsø in order to get a better understanding of how the city has evolved over the years. For this I would like to spend time in and engage with the Perspektivet Museum’s archive. The aim is to research how the transition from Mørketid (darkness) to Soldagen (sun return) was historically captured or documented. But also to explore the urban development of Tromsø as a city through the years. This will help to zoom in on, and select geographical areas of interest but also to anchor the arctic reality to my work.
During my time in Tromsø I would also like to build a relationship with the local art scene to see how my work conceptually and technically (collages, time-lapse, and slow-observation) resonates with existing collections or historical archives and exchange experiences. For this I would like to approach Tromsø Kunstforening and local galleries.
Expected outcome
Next to these research aspects I of course would like to maximize time in the field. I will predominantly be scouting for locations, planning shoot days and executing shoot days. Due to the time consuming process of one shot (up to 12 hours) and the light I want to capture I can only shoot one location a day so good scouting and preparation is essential. I will try to maximize the shooting days as much as possible depending on the atmospheric and weather situations.
The main goal is to produce as much photographic material as possible in alignment with the local research and artistic concept. I am aiming for 10 to 15 shooting days during the residency with travel and weather factored in.
Fall back scenario: If the weather conditions do not allow for shooting in one location for hours on end I will revert to shooting single images with the same theme. However I see this as a last resort.
Once back in the Netherlands I will edit the material and experiment with different collage patterns. From there I will produce the actual collages. The collages will be available as a limited edition. Next to the physical collages I will produce digital versions of the collages which can be printed as single photos. These will be available in different formats as limited edition.
With the body of work I will apply for national and international relevant (group) expositions and aim for a solo exhibition. Exhibiting the work in Tromsø would be a meaningful way to give something back to the community.
6.0 High level timeline
September 2026- February 2027
Desktop research for the project
Reach-out to Tromsø’s institutes
Sharpen the concept on found results
Research production aspects further (possible patterns for the collages)
Prepare practically, logistically and technically for the residency.
Source more funds and financing
15 Feb - 7 Mar 2027 (exact dates to be decided)
Engage with local cultural and historical resources
Location scouting, fieldwork and documentation
Aiming for 10-15 Shooting-days depending on weather conditions
March - Aug 2027
Editing and physical production of the series
Create digital prints
Prepare for exhibitions
7.0 Financing
This project will be self financed. In the months leading to the residency I will apply for several grants and seek sponsors to relieve the financial stress of this project. I will also start a crowdfunding to help finance the execution and materialization after the residency.
Rotterdam Schiphol and back
Flight AMS-TOS, TOS-AMS
Transfer Airport to car rental
Renting campervan (21 days)
Fuel (avg. 100 km/day)
Parking / toll / ferries
Residency (€ 0,- if granted)
Groceries for 21 days
Campervan
Travel for 21days
Clothing to keep me warm during shooting days
Contingency / buffer (~10% of total)
€ 4000, — € 5000,-
Transport
Transport
Transport
ransport
Transport
Transport
Accommodation
Living expenses
Insurance
Insurance
Extra gear
Unforseen
Total
Note: The largest expense of this residency (~€ 2000,-) will be the renting of a campervan. A camper with a stationary heater is essential because I will have to stay in one location for many hours at a time in very cold conditions. A hot bowl of soup in between takes will be a welcomed luxury.
8.0 About GAF van Baalen
I am a fine-art photographer drawn to landscape as a human environment, observing how society interacts with it, how it is used or sometimes abused, and the traces we leave behind. I watch how places are taken or given back to nature, exploring areas where one use of the landscape overlaps with another, including the metaphorical wastelands in between, sometimes intended, sometimes not. I observe and filter elements out of reality, trying to find the unusual within the usual. Once filtered from reality and executed in technical perfection, my work becomes independent, self-contained and detached from where it was taken. I work digitally but with an analogue mindset, predominantly framing shots in camera rather than in post production. My work seldom depends on the "decisive moment." Humans are often absent from my work; when included, they almost always become the dominant subject and a distraction from the intention. I take my time to consider each shot and limit image manipulation to stay true to the authenticity of the moment. In that sense, details are extremely important to me.
After more than three decades of creative exploration, I re-immersed myself in the world of fine-art, landscape, and architectural photography. I studied photography and animation at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam (1991–1995) and at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York (1993). Recently I recently completed the Expert Program in Strengthening Visual Storytelling at the Fotoacademie Amsterdam (2023).
My work has been published, among others, in Atlas of Ruins, Vol. I and De Architect, no. 1 (2025). Most recently, I participated in the group exhibition We Are Dreamers at Ballon Rouge, where I presented my work Sun-day. One of my works from Arctic Living was selected as a finalist and received an Honorable Mention in the Architecture category of the Berlin Photo Awards 2025.
