サンデル・クース｜Sander Coers
POST
作品解説
幼少期、祖父母のアルバムに夢中になり、祖父が第二次世界大戦中にインドネシアで生まれたことを知ったサンデル・クースは、曖昧なまま語られなかった歴史に直面する。そこで1940年代から90年代のアルバムをもとに、AIに自らの家族史を拡張させる試みを開始。当時の風景や衣服、色彩などを再現しているようだが、実際にはすべてフィクションだ。AIが画像を生成、構築する中では、写真がいかに過去の記憶や認識を形づくり、記憶は操作・再構築され得るのか。同時に男性性そのものも作られた虚構かもしれない。デジタル時代において記憶がどのように築かれ、変容し、時に創作されるのか、真実と虚構の間からいかにしてアイデンティティが立ち上がるのかを問いかける。
As a child, Sander Coers was captivated by the faded photographs in his grandparents’ albums, where he stumbled upon a startling revelation: his grandfather had been born in Indonesia during the tumultuous years of World War II. This discovery sparked a deep inquiry into a veiled and ambiguous family history, prompting Coers to delve into the fragments of memory preserved in family photographs spanning from the 1940s through the 1990s.
Driven by this personal quest, Coers initiated a compelling project that employs artificial intelligence to imaginatively expand and reimagine his family narrative. The images produced appear strikingly authentic, meticulously reconstructing the landscapes, clothing, and colors of specific historical periods; yet, they are entirely fabricated creations generated by AI. Through this deliberate blurring of fact and fiction, Coers challenges traditional notions of photography as a truthful document, instead highlighting its potent role in shaping collective memory and personal perception.
At the heart of this work lies a profound interrogation of how recollections can be manipulated, reconstructed, or even invented—and, in doing so, how identity itself is both fragile and fluid. Coers further complicates this discourse by suggesting that constructs such as masculinity may be no more than carefully woven fabrications.
Through this evocative body of work, Coers probes the complex ways in which memory is built, altered, and sometimes wholly invented in the digital age, inviting viewers to reflect on the uneasy boundary between truth and fabrication, and how this tension shapes the very essence of selfhood.
Profile
サンデル・クース｜Sander Coers
1997年オランダ生まれ。ロッテルダムを拠点に活動する写真家。2021年にWillem de Kooning Academie卒業後、個人的・集合的な記憶がどのように継承されるのかをテーマに、写真、木材、テキスタイル、陶器といった素材を用いながら、記憶の触感的・感情的側面を探求している。近年はAIやデジタル操作なども取り入れ、現実と幻想の境界に揺れる「記憶の構築性」への問いを深める。写真集に『Come Home』『This Naked Incident』『Blue Mood（Al Mar）』。「Foam」、「VOGUE」、「Die Zeit」、「i-D」、「The Guardian」などに取り上げられ、「NRC」紙による「2022年注目の新人」に選出。C/O Berlin Talent Awardノミネート、Foam Talent選出など受賞歴多数。
Born in the Netherlands in 1997, Sander Coers is a photographer based in Rotterdam. Since graduating from Willem de Kooning Academie in 2021, he has explored how personal and collective memory is preserved and passed on. Working with photography, wood, textiles, and ceramics, he investigates the tactile and emotional dimensions of memory. In recent years, he has increasingly incorporated AI and digital manipulation into his practice, deepening his inquiry into the constructed nature of memory that blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination.
His photobooks include Come Home, This Naked Incident, and Blue Mood (Al Mar). His work has been featured in Foam, VOGUE, Die Zeit, i-D, and The Guardian, and he was named one of the New Talents to Watch in 2022 by NRC. He has been nominated for the C/O Berlin Talent Award and was selected as a Foam Talent, among numerous other accolades.