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Raw Dee Photography is the one man art band of Ruud de Jong, photographer and writer. He's been busy with his art since twenty years. In his pictures he wants to combine visuals with their stories. From this he develops new visions of lost places, tattered glory and unexpected beauty. The whole story is never revealed, there is always something left to imagine.
How comeyou decided to become an artist? I've been photographing and writing since I was a child. It was actually something I did since I knew how to push a button. My father always took pictures and drew and I loved that. At a certain moment I thought, I can do that too. If that is true, I can't say of course. But once I started, I never looked back. And at a certain moment I said to myself, I'm an artist. And everybody believed me. Can you describe what you make? I work mostly in black and white or in simple colours and I love to do that as far away as I can. My work is stubornly hopeful. The people in my work are often on the road, looking for a different life. Sometimes I talk of travels or the longing for a home, other times I share long lost memories. So are you having any success with it? It's on and off, but lately it's getting better. On the 30th of May 2009 Cecilia by Night was opened, my solo exhibition in the Marechausseemuseum in Buren.And on the third of September 2009 I opened Verba Optica, an exhibition together with painter Dominique Ampe at the National Institute of Health and Environment in Bilthoven. Earlier I did an exhibition called A House and a Tree in New Zealand and for a long time my work has graced the walls of the Social Security Bank in Utrecht. And of course there's my website, www.rawdee.eu, where everybody can watch my work. Can you tell a bit more about one of your projects? For Cecilia by Night I wrote a story about Cecilia, a lonely young woman who looks differently from others. She says she has visions, about faith and love, fear and evil. Is she a saint, a witch or a fraud? In a series of twenty images I investigate who and what Cecilia is and what her visions mean. I worked on it with a friend of mine, Cathy Huisman, who posed for the role of Cecilia. And what are your plans for the future? In future I want to concentrate more and more on my art. Eventually I want to make another Big Trip, from Zeeland to New Zealand on a bike. Along the way I want to take pictures and write stories, but also make films. And everything can be followed on the internet of course. That's what I am now saving money for by selling my work and doing assignments.
Ruud's artistic work involves:
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