Juul Hondius deconstructs the media image and subsequently recontextualizes it. Dubious, or, in the case of Hondius, ambiguous forms of reporting enter into the foreground. But Hondius does not show us his source material. After all, the emphasis in his work lies not on the sender of the message but on its receiver. The one who views it is the co-creator of the image, in a way held responsible for the image that has been constructed for him or her. Not only the media image serves as a frame of reference, but also the language of cinematographic imagery. In his new film ‘To Unveil a Star’, Hondius went a long way of getting into the political structures of NATO by making the monumental sculpture which stands symbol for the NATO (the NATO star) the protagonist of his documentary narration
Juul Hondius (1970, Ens, The Netherlands) studied at the FAMU Photography, Film & Television School in Prague and the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His work can be found in the collections of the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain in Paris, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Amongst other venues his work was exhibited in Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2002); Stedelijk Museum Schiedam (2014); Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (2004/2013); Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (2011); Juan Miro Foundation, Barcelona (2011); Kunsthalle Mannheim (2010); Museum de Fundatie, Heino (2010); Fotomuseum, The Hague (2010); Platform Garanti, Istanbul (2007); Central Museum Utrecht (2007); Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2006); The Chicago Art Institute (2006); Photo-London, curated by Mario Testino (2005); De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam (2004), Huis Marseille, Amsterdam (2003); Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes (2002); and numerous festivals and biennials, including LOOP Barcelona (2015), Beijing Photo Biennial (2014), Lagos Photo International (2010), IDFA (2005), and Busan Biennale, curated by M.Park and T.M. Choi (2004). Recent screenings of ‘To Unveil A Star’ where held in the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam (2021) and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht during the NFF, the National Dutch Film Festival (2021).
