Israeli-born, raised in South Africa, and based in London, Nadav Kander is a well-known photographer famous for his portraits and landscapes. One striking portrait (not shown at the exhibit) was the cover of Peter Gabriel i/o album in 2013. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, his work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries around the world. Whether photographing influential figures like Barack Obama or David Lynch or capturing landscapes in England, Russia, and China, Kander invites viewers to look beyond the surface and question what lies beneath the image. His thought-provoking approach has resulted in some of the most striking and memorable photographs of his generation. FOAM had the wonderful idea of presenting his work in its beautiful space on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. Visiting the exhibition with a friend was the perfect opportunity, and it turned out to be a real delight. His series of black-and-white photographs, with their deep, rich blacks, exude melancholy and create a wonderfully atmospheric, moody feeling. I was also captivated by his distant view of Le Mont-Saint-Michel, with its beautifully composed foreground naturally drawing the eye towards the monument. His photographs of China, particularly Chongqing, were equally impressive. They offer ideal vantage points that emphasise the monumental scale of the architecture, while the tiny human figures provide a striking sense of scale. A frightening vision of China. The photographs seen are far from just decorative images and Kander’s message carries no candor; his profound message, takes us, the viewers, to the very Edge of Things, the title of the exhibition.
