Statement
Public swimming pools are a big part of my art. In this photo, it is summer in the Netherlands.
After a lengthy lockdown due to the pandemic, one that seemed to last forever, the pools finally reopened.
However, the use of the facilities remained restricted to the indoor pools, to be used only within strict time slots.
Outside, in the middle of the Dutch summer, the outdoor pool remains deserted.
Gera Woltjer is a Dutch-Australian conceptual artist and photographer based in Perth. Woltjer's practice aims to articulate aspects of the human condition, identity, and the complexity of structures and patterns in the built and natural environment. She uses a variety of media, mainly photography, video, drawing, printmaking and site-specific installation, to explore the recurring theme of conflicting elements, for example, rigid control of structure versus the irrepressible fluidity of natural form.
Woltjer has exhibited in a number of solo and group shows nationally and internationally including, Tekenkabinet XS (2020) in Amsterdam, NL, Be-Touched Project3drei (2018) in Karlsruhe, DE, C R O S S I N G 2 at Gallery Smith PS in Melbourne and Coördinaten (2017), the Netherlands.
Woltjer's work is represented in collections including Artbank Australia, the Artists Books Collection, State Library of Queensland and the Geraldton-Greenough Art Collection.