Helmersstraat

Marens van Leunen explores the layered nature of the everyday, focusing on domestic objects and spaces and their capacity to carry meaning and memories.

Helmersstraat, 2022 - 2024

Marens van Leunen spent last year photographing the house where she grew up. Her father still lives there, surrounded by his belongings. You'll find 11 of the same chairs, four similar sofas, at least seven tables, seven to eight computer screens and six or more gas stoves. Just to name a few things. The interior has a dynamic character. Furniture comes and goes, bought and sold through the second hand online marketplace Marktplaats.nl , also called ‘the God of the oversupply’ by her father. 
Helmersstraat questions the relationship with our home environment and our belongings. What can these objects reveal about us? What is their worth? What role do they play in our relationships?

In addition to her own images Van Leunen complemented her series with an archive of photo's of household items she found on her father's computer, which is growing to this day. She re-organized some 3,300+ photos, made by her father with the aim of selling. You can browse through this archive online (https://marensvanleunen.com/works/helmersstraat/archief.html). A selection of these pictures is made into a poster, accompanying the black-and-white images in a self-published booklet also called Helmersstraat.

The whole is an ode to her father's carefully selected second-hand items, which have unintentionally grown into collections, and an attempt to preserve memories connected to the interior and objects from her childhood home.