Installation with analog photographs

Many Moons Ago #2, 2021
The Mirage of the Desert is Always Exceedingly Unsteady, 2021
Not All Alone Unhappy, 2021
A Few Model Palm Trees (an Overview), 2019
Looking For Paradise #3, 2019

Palm trees, like photography, cannot be trusted. The palm tree is a recognisable visual that is intertwined historically and cross-culturally with various connotations, such as victory, triumph, endurance, religion, hospitality, wealth, vacation, and paradise. But a palm tree in California doesn’t tell the same story as the war-ravaged palm trees in the landscape of Iraq or Palmyra. The artist creates rhythm and variation by generating endless repetitive series in the darkroom. V. Roels uses his negatives to stamp light on silver gelatin paper. He creates a unique visual language that transcends reality through the use of shadow and contrast.