Scheltens & Abbenes

Netherlands

Amsterdam

The Ravestijn Gallery

Print

The Rug, Whiff #7 (MacGuffin Magazine)

Anja Niemi

Photography

A Moment Of Truth

Black Water

The Empty Arena and The Rider

The Show Jumper and The Horseless Rider

White Horse and The Lake

Involuntary Disembarkation

Lightness In Solid Black

Meadow at Dusk

Stallion Portrait with Missing Tack

The Lake

The Landing

The Portrait

The Rider

The Show Jumper

The Stallion

White Horse With Fabric

A woman stands turned away from us,  dressed in classic black dressage pants - hair gently gathered under her helmet by a hairnet. The sleeves of her white blouse are rolled up, torso slightly arched, shoulders together. Her leather riding boots are securely grounded beneath her, preparing to confront the dark void ahead. 

The Rider Vol. 1 is an ideological progression from Anja Niemi's previous series The Blow (2019), in which a female boxer has the lead role. The Blow is an allegory for struggle, and the countless number of conflicts we as humans wrestle with. As with all of Niemi’s work, the narratives she constructs and then performs act as allegorical amplifiers to the conversations that lie beneath. 

In her latest series Niemi recreates her character's struggle in the form of a rider and her horse. Trust and the will to understand each other are essential to their mutual bond. In good times they are one, connected in trust and respect. They are on an open-ended journey,  a journey that requires perseverance and the suspension of fear. 
 
Involuntary disembarkation (2021). A jodhpur trapped in a stirrup, with its leather strap tangled and hanging in thin air, hints to events of the past. Reminding us of the traumas that haunt us. The Rider is about the freedom found in progress and the ability to displace fear even if it’s temporary. 

The Rider Vol. 1 is a declaration of love, for the creatures the artist simultaneously fears and adores.

The Rider Vol. 1

The Rider Vol. 1

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