4 museomag   01 ‘ 2023 
THE NARRATIVE POTENTIAL 
OF IMAGES  (1/2) 
A CONVERSATION WITH ERWIN OLAF AND HANS OP DE BEECK 
Erwin Olaf, Im Wald, Unter dem Baum, 2020, Archival pigment print, 160 x 240 cm © Studio Erwin Olaf, Amsterdam 
For the first time ever, Dutch photographer Erwin 
Olaf and Belgian visual artist Hans Op de Beeck are 
presenting work together in an exciting new show 
at the National Museum of History and Art, staged 
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Edward 
Steichen’s death. A muted colour palette of black, white 
and grey tones dominates the immersive exhibition 
entitled Erwin Olaf & Hans Op de Beeck, Inspired by 
Steichen, which foregrounds nature as a key theme and 
spans photography, watercolour and sculpture. 
Drawing on the modes and motifs of 19th century 
Romanticism, Olaf’s series of atmospheric black and 
white prints entitled Im Wald (2020) conveys the silent 
power of nature and the insignificance of human 
beings. The series was something of a departure for 
the photographer; instead of his usual studio setting, 
he captured his images outdoors in the Bavarian 
woods. The resulting large-scale photographs show 
figures in dialogue with the elements, often dwarfed by 
sweeping mountain ranges, ancient trees or waterfalls 
and rendered with painterly precision. 
With their focus on nocturnal landscapes, Op de 
Beeck’s monochromatic watercolours provide the 
perfect counterpoint to Olaf’s series. Painted at night 
and spanning several meters, these works frequently 
depict moonlit forests, dramatic seascapes and starry 
skies in the delicate medium of aquarelle. Two of Op de 
Beeck’s trademark grey sculptures complete the show; 
featuring figures framed by natural surroundings, the 
works arrest moments in time, presenting scenes over 
which dust seems to have settled, Pompeii-like in 
nature. 
Bound by a fascination for light, a keen interest 
in pictorial traditions and the narrative potential of 
images, Olaf and Op de Beeck both plunge viewers 
into carefully staged scenarios in their work, actively 
calling on them to reflect on and interpret what they 
see. We caught up with the two artists ahead of the 
show to speak about the ways in which their practices 
connect and converge, specifically in terms of their 
approach to storytelling and their meticulous crafting 
of images. 
I’d like to start off by talking about something 
rather obvious, which is that the show is 
completely monochromatic. Erwin, your black 
and white photographs from the series Im Wald