‘Shopkeepers’ By Niels Helmink


In his 2008 series “Shopkeepers”, Amsterdam-based photographer Niels Helmink documents the personalities and interiors of a fast-disappearing retail landscape.

Art and photogrphy critic Merel Bem said of his work: “The photographer has tried to be as consistent as possible about including certain elements in each photograph […] The whole wacky shop has to be on the negative. Every old tube, every broken fluorescent light, every bouquet of fake flowers has to be in the picture in order to preserve the interior from oblivion. […] The wide-angle view is meant to draw viewers into the picture in order to involve them in the subject matter, to engage them, if you will.”

Check out the images below! To see more, visit the photographer’s website here.

Read the original blog post here on Sight Unseen.

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