Anna Janssen
- Michael Hanna
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Anna Janssen is a socially-conscious photographer and filmmaker who has exhibited across Europe in countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Recent exhibitions include the Komma Collective in The Hague, Vermloemd Collective in Amsterdam, and Boomer Gallery in London. Anna has been published in The NKD Book and has conducted an interview with Mushroom Radio in The Hague. She describes her artistic practice as giving “voice to those who need to be heard—creating carefully constructed, thought-provoking tableaux that merge visual aesthetics with emotional depth…As an activist and feminist, I am committed to addressing issues of gender inequality through art. I believe art can spark critical conversations, while also providing a refuge—a safe space for women and marginalized audiences”.
Conceptual and dark, Anna Janssen’s work typically deals with subjects such as women dealing with sexual harassment in public spaces which she describes as an ‘invisible violence’. Other themes include addressing her eating disorder through double exposure self-portraiture as well as conceptual capturing of female figures posing in states of confidence or with props indicating irony.
It’s Not All Men, but It’s Always a Man (pictured above) is a series captured both in photography and film. In the photography, women are shown in a perpetual state of trauma or sorrow covered under blankets of dusk. The film under the same title on the other hand portrays cityscapes along with narration and text detailing incidents of vulgar sexual harassment and assaults reported through apps. These works cover their subjects in a perpetual state of darkness shot entirely at night and only revealing light from ominous street lights with dramatic contrast which foreshadow an upcoming crime. The perpetual edge of the shadows reveal inclinations of disturbance and lack of peace.
My Friend Ana (pictured above) is a self-portraiture series exploring emotional impulses on the discomfort of dealing with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. The photographs are quite cynical from self-serving medicine on a luxury plate with fine water and satin gloves containing the description of ‘treat’. Ana engages with conversations with herself in intimate locations such as the bathtub and in front of the refrigerator. The artist seems to desire comfort, even submerging herself in a bathtub with blue hair and obtaining solace in a face mask, bathrobe, and nail polish while simultaneously sitting in a bathtub. Through invocations of perpetual states of hysteria and discomfort, the My Friend Ana series depicts the deep trauma of dealing with the psychological isolation of eating disorders.
From sexual harassment to eating disorders to straight conceptual irony, Anna Janssen offers a varied portfolio which delves deep into human psychology and reaction to post-modern trauma. She delves into the hidden crevices of society from personal problems to public ones and reveals a narrative based on the haunting aspects of being confronted by both individuals and silent illnesses through dramatic lighting, capturing of figures at night, texts, reality-based narration, and use of conceptual props. Anna’s works are a profile on how to artistically interpret issues of great importance which have a negative impact on our lives and well-being. Her works are a case study on how to use visual art to investigate the purpose of nourishing the traumatized parts of our mind from real world situations which have serious and often overlooked consequences.
