David de Haan

‘The Music Venues / The Rehearsal Spaces’

I see a paradox in human behaviour while trying to find happiness. Ambitious goals stir up energy and passion, but also lead to imminent failure and frustration.

My photographs are metaphors for this human struggle. I want my detailed typology-like pictures to tell this story. To go beyond the visible, by showing merely the visible.

Objective photography is an illusion, but I strive for it. The viewer decides where to look and what to see. A photograph makes any subject interesting, drawing attention. Every space can tell a story. Viewers should look for this story and construct it for themselves.

These pictures, from two on-going series, explore my main theme in music. ‘The Music Venues’ shows the energy of an empty venue, moments before the floor is filled with the audience for a live concert. ‘The Rehearsal Spaces’ provides a look into a band’s rehearsal space, conveying the concentrated practice and energy required for expression of emotion in music.