THE LEVITATORS
Ruth van Beek

Ruth van Beek has been collecting photographs from all over the place for years. Newspaper clippings, amateur family pictures, images from old books and from the internet. She puts them together in her ever-growing archive; an archive that is simultaneously both chaotic and fluent. The subjects she explores range from family life, landscapes, archeological findings, natural disasters, spectacular findings, flower arrangements and handcraft instructions.
Her new series, The Levitators are a species of animals that originated from images of domestic dogs. Seeing these pets, now bred in all possible shapes and forms, it is hard to believe that they descend from wild animals. In the photos they pose patiently for the camera of their owner, looking their best, tails wagging. To bring the dogs back to life, Ruth van Beek cuts and fold the images. Through this process of animation and fixation many things go awry. In her attempt to make the dogs fly, they gradually loose their original dog-shape, transforming into fluffy objects, unsuccessful animals. Thus through this uncertainty they become moldable and open to new interpretations.