Piet den Blanken

Wijbosch, 1951 – Guatamala City, 2022

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Piet den Blanken began his career as a darkroom technician and photographer at a local newspaper in ’s-Hertogenbosch in the 1970s. During this time, he also trained as a photo reporter at the photography school in Apeldoorn. 

From 1978, he embarked on many long journeys as a self-employed photographer, specialising in social and economic topics. “I never travelled to countries out of general curiosity. I went to Nicaragua because I wanted to record the revolution. To El Salvador to record the resistance. I still do. Recently, I visited Guatemala to show the abysmal circumstances of the workers harvesting sugar cane. Not to capture its natural beauty.” (Excerpt from an interview in BN DeStem, 7th March 2015: “Sociaal onrecht als grote inspiratiebron”)

Den Blanken has mostly documented the underbelly of society. He photographs working and living environments, records how people interact, how they carry out actions, how they stand up for themselves, how they starve, how they flee: “These are often very strong people who find solutions that would never even cross our minds. It’s not depressing to watch – if anything, seeing their resilience is inspirational.” 

His reports are distributed by photo agency Hollandse Hoogte and published in national and regional newspapers, trade union magazines, and opinion magazines. Piet den Blanken has also made various photo books about topics ranging from rural life in the southern Netherlands to justice, civil wars, informal care, and prostitution. 

For the upcoming biennial, the curators will consult the photographer’s estate to make a selection from his oeuvre that fits the themes of human perseverance and belief in a better future.