DEPTH OF FIELD
Dealer in original historical
and fine art photographic prints
GERT JAN KOCKEN
Defacing
Mass of St. Gregory, Münster. Defacement 9 February 1529
Gert Jan Kocken's work "Defacing" (2004-2009) impressively captures the traces of damage inflicted on historical artworks during the iconoclasm in Northern Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By combining four years of research with his characteristic technical precision, Kocken has created images that are not only visually powerful but also reveal deeper layers of meaning.
His photo series raises questions about the fragility of art and culture and how these are influenced and transformed over time by human actions. Kocken invites the viewer to reflect on the relationship between the past and the present, and the way collective memories are shaped and transformed. His work emphasizes the interplay between destruction and survival, and how cultural objects, despite their damage, retain their own story and value.
Annunciation, Swanden, Defacement 21 December 1528