Verena Blok: Love Shit – A Poignant Photography Exhibition at Foam Fotografiemuseum

Foam presents 'Love Shit,' the first solo exhibition by Dutch-Polish artist Verena Blok, exploring the complexities of reproduction, including pregnancy, abortion, care, and reproductive rights. The exhibition combines personal photographic portraits with abstract imagery and diary fragments, critically examining individual experiences within broader social and political structures.

Foam presents 'Love Shit,' the first solo exhibition by Dutch-Polish artist Verena Blok. The exhibition delves into the complex facets of reproduction, encompassing pregnancy, abortion, childhood, care, intimacy, health, and reproductive rights. At a time of increasing pressure on women's rights globally, Blok's work emphasizes nuance and a multiplicity of voices. 'Love Shit' emerged from Blok's dual experiences of her own pregnancy and her work at a Dutch abortion clinic, raising urgent questions about choice and bodily autonomy. Over two and a half years, Blok captured portraits of women at various stages of pregnancy, children, and couples across several countries. These portraits are integrated with abstract imagery and diary fragments written by the artist during her clinic work, illustrating how individual reproductive experiences are deeply connected to wider social and political frameworks. The title, 'Love Shit,' signifies the messy reality of reproduction, where playful innocence, bodily transformations, and conflicting emotions coexist. Despite being fundamental to life, experiences such as birth, pregnancy, care, and intimacy are often shrouded in taboo and stigma. Blok's empathetic and socially critical perspective highlights that reproduction involves not only love and happiness but also vulnerability, grief, tension, and discomfort. Verena Blok (born 1990) is known for her strong interest in personal narratives and the influence of cultural and political forces on individual lives. Utilizing an analogue 35mm camera, she immerses herself in specific contexts and cultivates long-term relationships with her subjects. Her Dutch-Polish background informs her awareness of shifting ideologies between East and West. Blok's work, often characterized by a dreamlike and cinematic quality, deliberately explores discomfort within socially charged themes like gender performativity, hypermasculinity, nationalism, and, more recently, abortion and reproductive rights. Her projects manifest as books, photographic works, and short films. Blok holds a Master's degree in Photography from AKV St. Joost and a Bachelor's from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague. She was an artist-in-residence at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam from 2020 to 2022. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the Dutch National Art Collection (Rijksoverheid).

Open daily 10:00 – 18:00 hrs, Thurs/Fri 10:00 – 21:00 hrs. Further ticketing information can be found on www.foam.org. Verena Blok – Love Shit is made possible by the Mondrian Fund, Starframe and Riwi Collo Type.