Joke Robaard

The Dutch artist and photographer Joke Robaard originally trained in fashion, investigates the configuration of groups of people, for example in networks of friends, colleagues, companies and neighbours. She ‘directs’ individuals in certain positions and patterns in relation to one another, which are then photographed, and uses clothing to illustrate where the connections lie and how they are constantly shifting.

Her work is based on a huge collection of images and texts relating to people’s clothing behaviour patterns. Robaard does not categorise them as 'fashion', but wants to find out how clothing works. Her archive can be seen as a cartographic record of everyday clothing. Robaard moves simultaneously through the various zones of visual art, photography, video and fashion.
Moving through art, photography, video and fashion her beautifully designed book Folders, Suits, Pockets, Files, Stock includes texts by Gilles Deleuze, Roland Barthes, Robert Bresson, Jorinde Seijdel and the artist herself.