Pieter Bas Bouwman - Acacia II

Pieter Bas Bouwman — Acacia II, Remembering Relics
Unique work

Acacia II is a unique photographic work by Dutch artist and photographer Pieter Bas Bouwman, created as part of his project Remembering Relics.

The photograph originates from a four-month period of fieldwork in southern Kenya, where Bouwman worked in close collaboration with members of the Maasai community. Remembering Relics explores the complex and increasingly fragile relationship between humans, wildlife and landscape, focusing in particular on human-wildlife conflict and the ways in which people and animals are forced to share a rapidly changing environment.
In Acacia II, an isolated acacia tree emerges from an almost disappearing landscape. The high-key photographic image reduces the surroundings to subtle traces, while the tree remains as a fragile but persistent presence.

For the final work, Bouwman printed the photograph on Japanese paper and folded the print into a visible geometric grid. Rather than concealing these folds, they deliberately remain part of the image. The photograph consequently functions not only as an image, but also as a physical object: the folds interrupt and reconstruct the landscape and emphasize the vulnerability and materiality of both the paper and its subject.
The folded print is presented floating in a dark-brown wooden frame. It is attached with small nails and protected behind museum glass. The photograph is separated from the backing, creating subtle depth and allowing the irregularities, folds and edges of the Japanese paper to remain visible.
The work is signed on the reverse by Pieter Bas Bouwman and exists as a unique work.

Exhibition history
Works from Remembering Relics have been presented at Haute Photographie Amsterdam and Haute Photographie Rotterdam.
The project was also presented in Bouwman's solo exhibition Remembering Relics at Galerie Lissabon in The Hague.

Artwork details
Artist: Pieter Bas Bouwman
Title: Acacia II
Series: Remembering Relics
Medium: Photography on Japanese paper
Technique: Photographic print, manually folded and mounted as a three-dimensional photographic object
Edition: Unique work
Signature: Signed by the artist on the reverse
Dimensions: approx. 55 × 40 cm
Presentation: Floating mount in dark-brown wooden frame, fixed with small nails
Glass: Museum glass
Provenance: Directly from the artist

Included with the artwork
The work will be delivered together with a copy of Pieter Bas Bouwman's artist book Remembering Relics, which provides further context for the photographic project and the work created in Kenya.

The book has a retail value of €62 and accompanies the artwork as additional documentation of the series.

The visible folds, small nails, floating mounting and characteristics of the Japanese paper are intentional elements of the artwork and should not be considered condition issues.