Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Presents Bruce Eesly's 'New Farmer' Series
Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam highlights the compelling work of Bruce Eesly, a distinguished Foam Talent runner-up, with his thought-provoking series, New Farmer. This exhibition delves into the complex legacy of the Green Revolution, using contemporary photographic techniques to question established narratives of agricultural abundance and technological progress.
Examining the Green Revolution Through Photography in Amsterdam
Eesly's New Farmer series takes inspiration from the Green Revolution, a period spanning the 1940s to the 1980s that fundamentally altered global food production through legal, political, and mechanical innovations. While often hailed as a solution to global hunger, Eesly's work critiques the underlying realities that promotional materials, with their images of sunny fields and bountiful harvests, often overlooked. He points to how monoculture farming, despite its promises, has contributed to ecosystem instability and increased risks.
The artist masterfully employs generative imaging tools to expose the absurdity behind corporate and governmental claims of endless, effortless agricultural output. His images depict genetically modified crops that grow exponentially, initially appearing just on the edge of believability before rapidly escalating into exaggerated, surreal scenes. Viewers encounter surreal landscapes where broccoli towers over farm buildings, clouds of fertilizer engulf vast fields, and seed banks are provocatively detonated to make way for pesticide manufacturing plants.
The Vision of Bruce Eesly
Through New Farmer, Eesly probes the inherent dangers found in the relentless pursuit of growth and capital, alongside the accompanying risk and instability. The series reflects on an increasingly uncertain world where new technologies are frequently introduced with similar promises of effortless abundance, holding a mirror to contemporary societal challenges.
Bruce Eesly, a visual artist and gardener based in Berlin, Germany, uses photography, archives, and generative imaging technologies in his practice. His work skillfully blurs the lines between fact and fiction, challenging assumptions about photographic truth and the visual language of techno-scientific optimism. Eesly’s unique approach and use of humor examine the increasing algorithmisation of our modern world. The text accompanying this feature, penned by Isabel Walter, Assistant Curator at Foam and Editorial Assistant at Foam Magazine, further explores these themes.
This insightful text is originally published in Foam Magazine #68: Talent, released in June 2026. Interested readers can order a copy of Foam Magazine #68: Talent to delve deeper into the works of the Foam Talent Runners-up.
To discover more captivating photography exhibitions and other cultural highlights in the city, explore Amsterdam's museums or see what's currently on through Musemap (musemap.art).
