Foam Talks

The medium of photography and the world are changing rapidly. Photographers Igor Tereshkov (RU, 1989) and Anastasia Samoylova (RU/US, 1984) are part of a new generation of documentary photographers. Experimenting with different techniques, the two research the connection between humans and their environment. Together with David Campany, Managing Director of Programs at the International Center of Photography, the two artists speak about their research.

Igor Tereshkov works with mixed media including documentary photography and experiments with different photo process and mediums. His work revolves around topics such as environment, ecology and the Anthropocene. One of these examples is his series ‘Oil and Moss’ shot in KhMAO, the district producing about 50% of Russia’s oil. This work shows the irresponsible handling of fossils and the damage this brings to Indigenous People and nature.

Anastasia Samoylova moves between observational photography, studio practice and installation. By utilizing tools and strategies related to digital media and commercial photography, her work explores notions of environmentalism, consumerism and the picturesque. Her recent series ‘Floridas’ document Florida’s complex history and its connection to the broader context of contemporary USA.

Together, Foam and Paris Photo present a brand-new season of the podcast series Foam Talks: Talent Edition. This series presents eight talented image-makers from both the fair's Curiosa Sector and Foam Talent 2021. Each of the episodes welcomes two photographers, one of each organisations' talent programme. Brought together by a common theme and approach, the photographers speak about their projects and motivations, as well as the challenges they encounter.

Not to miss the works of the artists, please visit the digital exhibition at Talent.foam.org and the work at the Curiosa sector of Paris Photo.

Concept: Amelie Schüle and Hinde Heast


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

Photography has the power to translate the intangible. The work of photographers Sarker Protick (1986, IN) and AnaMary Bilbao (1986, PT) aims to visualise philosophical concepts such as impermanence or materiality of time. In dialogue with Elisa Medde, Editor in Chief of Foam Magazine, they talk about their conceptual approaches.

In the associative sequences of Sarker Protick’s work ‘রশ্মি / Raśmi / Ray’, light is the main protagonist and a metaphor for illumination – be it spiritual or scientific. Raśmi is a Sanskrit word which can be found in the Bengali language meaning ‘Ray of Light’. Rooted in personal experiences of loss and grief, the work explores our existence in a cosmos that is both infinitely small and unfathomably wide. All photographs were taken with a cell phone, capturing our indirect (screen-based) relation to the world around us. Devoid of a sense of scale, the images become ambivalent: are we looking at a microscopic view of the neural system, or an aerial photograph of a river delta? An anti-depressant pill could just as well be an image of the Earth from space, and vice versa.

In her project inspired by ‘Le Bleu du ciel’ by Georges Bataille, AnaMary Bilbao explores the ideas of eternity and mortality, reality and dreams, belief and doubt. The works open a dialogue that suggests new connections and interpretations. Without ever aiming to close themselves in a specific narrative, they seek to expose the indeterminacy contained in the imminence of what is about to happen. All the works live from this tension, from the uncertainty of the images’ content and their openness to interpretation.

Together, Foam and Paris Photo present a brand-new season of the podcast series Foam Talks: Talent Edition. This series presents eight talented image-makers from both the fair's Curiosa Sector and Foam Talent 2021. Each of the episodes welcomes two photographers, one of each organisations' talent programme. Brought together by a common theme and approach, the photographers speak about their projects and motivations, as well as the challenges they encounter.

Not to miss the works of the artists, please visit the digital exhibition at Talent.foam.org and the work at the Curiosa sector of Paris Photo.

Concept: Amelie Schüle and Hinde Heast


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

The tenth episode of Foam Talks welcomes the Swiss artist Douglas Mandry, whose work is currently part of the Foam Talents 2020 exhibition. His work is characterized by his experimental use of historic photographic techniques and self-invented processes, through which he reconfigures depictions of our natural environment.

Foam produced this episode as part of a special series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2020. Each episode focusses on one artist aiming to evoke a conversation around their approach, offer an insight into the discourses surrounding a specific project, contextualizing it within the photography field while not forgetting the personal stories and dreams behind it. The conversations are moderated by Mirjam Kooiman, curator of the Foam Talent 2020 exhibition.

Concept: Mirjam Kooiman and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

The ninth episode of Foam Talks welcomes photographer Alba Zari. The starting point of the conversation is Zari's project The Y, that is currently on show in Amsterdam. Next to The Y, we will also dive into Occult, the new project that Alba Zari is currently working on.

Foam produced this episode as part of a special series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2020. Each episode focusses on one artist aiming to evoke a conversation around their approach, offer an insight into the discourses surrounding a specific project, contextualizing it within the photography field while not forgetting the personal stories and dreams behind it. The conversations are moderated by Mirjam Kooiman, curator of the Foam Talent 2020 exhibition.

Concept: Mirjam Kooiman and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

The final episode of our mini-series ‘Stories of Migration’ will focus on Now You See Me Moria, a cross-national collective consisting of Noemí, Amir, Qutaeba, Ali, Mustafa ​and others who continue to join. Claartje van Dijk, head of exhibitions ​at Foam, will speak with Noemi, ​the Amsterdam-based photo editor ​and leading force behind Now You See Me Moria, to give an insight into the collective's work and mission.

Personal experiences, anger and pain are the basis of a special project in which refugees share ​personal photos and stories via Instagram about their daily life in Moria, the largest refugee camp in Europe, located in Greece. In August 2020 Amir, a refugee living in Moria and Noemí, ​started their collaboration by setting up the Instagram account now_you_see_me_moria and publish pictures of life at the camp. Since then, Now You See Me ​Moria got the attention of various media outlets, individuals and organizations across Europe. Today the account has a following of more than 30,000 people. More importantly: a growing number of followers have started collaborations with the​ collective. From a small ​collaboration Now You See Me Moria has become a civil rights movement demanding fundamental change to European migration policy.

Concept: Elisa Medde and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering, Mixing & Music: Andersen Audio Productions

The seventh episode of Foam Talks features Foam Talent Daniel Garcia Castro in conversation with Edmund Clark, who works as an artist and lecturer. The starting point of this episode is his project I Peri N’Tera which tracks the movements of 12 underage refugees, whom he met at a reception centre for male unaccompanied minors in rural Sicily, Italy. Daniel Castro Garcia subtracts the images from the purely photojournalistic realm and offers a point of entry to a spiritual space of inner struggle and the slow and often faltering process of emotional healing.

Foam produced this episode as part of a mini-series called Stories of Migration. In this series, we welcome three artists whose work evolves around questions of migration, identity and belonging. From their individual perspectives and personal histories, the artists reflect on ethnicity, place, marginalisation, memory and constructions of the self. They all present different cultural and political perspectives that complement each other and create a poly vocal rendition of migration. The conversations are hosted by Elisa Medde, Editor-in-Chief of Foam Magazine.

Concept: Elisa Medde and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering, Mixing & Music: Andersen Audio Productions

The sixth episode of Foam Talks welcomes photographer

Silvia Rosi and curator, writer and Griot Magazine founder and artistic director Johanne Affricot. The starting point of the conversation is Rosi's project ‘Encounter’.

Foam produced this episode as part of a mini-series called Stories of Migration. In this series, we welcome three artists whose work evolves around questions of migration, identity and belonging. From their individual perspectives and personal histories, the artists reflect on ethnicity, place, marginalisation, memory and constructions of the self. They all present different cultural and political perspectives that complement each other and create a poly vocal rendition of migration. The conversations are hosted by Elisa Medde, Editor-in-Chief of Foam Magazine.

Concept: Elisa Medde and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering, Mixing & Music: Andersen Audio Productions

The fifth episode of Foam Talks welcomes Iranian photographer Hashem Shakeri. The starting point of the conversation is Shakeri’s project An Elegy for the Death of Hamun.

Foam produced this episode as part of a special series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2020. Each episode focusses on one artist aiming to evoke a conversation around their approach, offer an insight into the discourses surrounding a specific project, contextualizing it within the photography field while not forgetting the personal stories and dreams behind it. The conversations are moderated by Mirjam Kooiman, curator of this year's Foam Talent exhibition.

Concept: Mirjam Kooiman and Amelie Schüle


Production: Nordin Janssen


Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

The fourth episode of Foam Talks welcomes photographer Luther Konadu and art historian and curator Leslie Wilson. The starting point of the conversation is Konadu's project Figure as Index. Together with host Mirjam Kooiman, they will reflect on the photographic portrait as a powerful instrument in (de)constructing representation.

Foam produced this episode as part of a special series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2020. Each episode focusses on one artist aiming to evoke a conversation around their approach, offer an insight into the discourses surrounding a specific project, contextualizing it within the photography field while not forgetting the personal stories and dreams behind it. In addition, each conversation features a special guest that has a shared professional or personal connection to the artist. The encounters are moderated by Mirjam Kooiman, curator of this year's Foam Talent exhibition.

Concept: Mirjam Kooiman and Amelie Schüle

Production: Nordin Janssen

Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions

The third episode of Foam Talks: Talent edition is with Matthew Leifheit, photographer, magazine-editor, publisher, and professor based in Brooklyn, NY and Allen Frame, photographer, writer, curator, professor and theatre and movie director. Allen Frame is also the author of the text on Matthew’s portfolio in Foam Magazine issue 55: Talent 2020, describing his series Fire Island Night, which Matthew has now retitled to To Die Alive. This conversation was recorded on the occasion of the Queer History Month 2021, an initiative of IHLIA, the biggest archive of LGBTI history in Europe, based in Amsterdam.

To Die Alive is a fantastical exploration of Fire Island, the historic gay retreat located less than 50 miles from New York City.

Foam produced this episode as part of a special series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2020. Each episode focusses on one artist aiming to evoke a conversation around their approach, offer an insight into the discourses surrounding a specific project, contextualizing it within the photography field while not forgetting the personal stories and dreams behind it. In addition, each conversation features a special guest that has a shared professional or personal connection to the artist. The encounters are moderated by Mirjam Kooiman, curator of Foam Talent 2020.

Concept: Mirjam Kooiman and Amelie Schüle

Production: Nordin Janssen

Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions