Sanne Kabalt (Amsterdam, 1989) is a Dutch artist who works with the medium of photography, often accompanied by writing. After her studies in photography at the Utrecht School of the Arts (2011) she obtained her MA degree from the Dutch Art Institute (2018) in Arnhem. Recent exhibitions include Beautiful Distress House (Amsterdam), Württembergischer Kunstverein (Stuttgart) and Lítost (Prague). Alongside her artistic practice, Kabalt teaches at different institutions such as Merz Akademie Stuttgart (DE) & Buitenkunst (NL). Her first book, ‘Zolang je niet zo over problemen praat zie je er toch niks van’, which roughly translates to ‘As long as you don’t talk about problems so much you won’t see them anyways’, was published in 2018 by Het Vijfde Seizoen.

artistic practice

In my work, I use a wide range of media: Photography is often at the core, accompanied by poetry, drawing, installation, projection, song or performance. The content of the project determines its form.

Thematically, I am engaged in the realms of illness, death, madness and loss and human-non human relations. Working with themes like these requires sensitivity and nuance.

My work originates in questions that have a strong hold on me. What is the relation between pain and the words we give to it? How do we look at photographs of someone who is no longer there? Should the camera do what the eyes cannot? By making a work I am not trying to solve these questions but rather to open them up and go into their depths.

Photography implies a focus on a static end result, but I am interested in what comes before and after that, and deliberately blur the distinctions between a process and a finished work.