If you have any proposals or questions about the use or purchase of my artwork, please contact me. For The Dream Vehicle project, click here. Rob Verbunt.
Instagram: @robverbunt
Statement and short biography:
Self Liberation
I work as a fine art photographer and writer. In my autonomous work I express personal feelings on topics like intimacy, loss and the passage of time. With my photography, often accompanied by text, I want to create my own personal version of how I perceive life and at the same time it gives me room to experience new things, gaining new insights. Examining the world with a camera and a pen directs my path to growth, to self liberation. The working process is one of curiosity and experiment. During and after my study at the Academy of Photography in Rotterdam (Graduated in 2013) I used to work in collaboration with models to discover new information and to develop a certain signature in my imagery. Next to working with models, I developed a strong love for the self portrait, something that has stayed with me throughout my photographic career. An opportunity to influence the event of photographing, to fully feel the image being created and apart from that, for the audience to offer a glimpse into my personal world, one that can be fictional and non-fictional at the same time.
A life within a life
I am very much triggered by the idea that with photography, you can live a life within a life. Meaning that whenever the camera is brought into the scene, behavior shifts and an alternate proceeding of life takes place. One that would never be, without the camera. I call it 'interrupting my reality, to make imagery that represents my reality'. ©
Signature
The images I love to make are those that seem to sprout from dreams, set in places with sober context. I like to let my feelings speak through the images. To support that technically, I make most of my recordings with a digital pinhole camera. Since my time at the Academy of Photography, I barely use glass lenses anymore. I developed a style of shooting pinhole images in low light. Using long exposure times, painting with light on the face and body of my subjects. This combination has become my signature.
The line between pain and pleasure
During my artistic career, I shifted from black and white, harsh and graphic photo work, to a much softer approach, of translating emotions rather than literally showing my ideas. With my photography, I want to poetically address the line between pain and pleasure, comfort and discomfort. An early inspirations to me was Nobuyoshi Araki. Later, I got into the work of Antoine d’Agata, who I met during a workshop at Magnum London.
Biography
Rob Verbunt (The Hague, 1970) originally focused on a career as an advertising draftsman. After careers in music and communications, he graduates at Photo Academy Rotterdam in 2013. Rob's autonomous visual work, characterized by the use of pinhole technology covers themes such as individuality, intimacy, loss and the passage of time. 'With my photography I want to poetically address the line between pain and pleasure, comfort and discomfort. It is not uncommon for me to participate in my images as a set piece, telling or experiencing the story'.
Awards
In my professional photography career I was in gallery exhibitions, competitions and nominations. I won photo prizes and had magazine- and book publications. I exhibited in Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis Leiden and participated in the first edition of the Rotterdam Photo Festival. With my tattoo projection performance, we won the Public Choice Award at Museum Night Rotterdam. For a 48 Hour Film production, with Jesse Immanuel Bom and team I crossed over to directing, to end up winning Best Director in the multiple award winning short Lilith.
The Dream Vehicle
End of 2018 I started an artistic collaboration with fellow photographer Anna Witkowska. In our ongoing project called The Dream Vehicle we research the adult male-female relationship by means of a road trip through the Benelux countries. The Dream Vehicle brought forth a photobook and a film, poetry and music. The Dream Vehicle and its multimedial performance brought solo exhibitions from Amsterdam to Hasselt. The Dream Vehicle book has been included in the special collection of the Libraries of The University of Leiden in 2023. Currently The Dream Vehicle is expanding towards the American Southwest and the broader part of Europe.
Thanks for your warm interest.
© Rob Verbunt 2026.