Sanne Kabalt (Amsterdam, 1989) is a Dutch artist who works with the medium of photography, often accompanied by writing. After her studies in photography at the Utrecht School of the Arts (2011) she obtained her MA degree from the Dutch Art Institute (2018) in Arnhem. Recent exhibitions include Sea Foundation (Tilburg), Beautiful Distress House (Amsterdam), Württembergischer Kunstverein (Stuttgart) and Lítost (Prague). Alongside her visual work, Kabalt writes poetry and prose and frequently publishes in literary magazines. She also teaches at different institutions such as Merz Akademie Stuttgart (DE) & Buitenkunst (NL). Sanne has published two books, ‘Zolang je niet zo over problemen praat zie je er toch niks van’ (2018, Het Vijfde Seizoen) & ‘The Cough’ (2022, self-published)..

artistic practice

In my work, I use a wide range of media: Photography is often at the core, accompanied by poetry, drawing, installation, projection, song or performance. The content of the project determines its form.

Thematically, I am engaged in the realms of illness, death, madness and loss and human-non human relations. Working with themes like these requires sensitivity and nuance.

My work originates in questions that have a strong hold on me. What is the relation between pain and the words we give to it? How do we look at photographs of someone who is no longer there? Should the camera do what the eyes cannot? By making a work I am not trying to solve these questions but rather to open them up and go into their depths.

Photography implies a focus on a static end result, but I am interested in what comes before and after that, and deliberately blur the distinctions between a process and a finished work.