In 1936, a Dutch teenager called Ria van Dijk went to her local fairground’s shooting gallery. Whenever the target was hit, it triggered the shutter of a camera; the person firing the gun was photographed, and the resulting image was given as a prize. It led to Van Dijk “shooting” her self-portrait every year throughout her life (except 1939 to 1945), one eye closed in concentration, documenting the passage of time.
In a new book published by RVB, In Almost Every Picture #7, in which the photos are collated, editor Erik Kessels writes: “This epic project is both a character study and time travel the slow way – an archive of a changing world on a micro scale, documenting changing styles and generations with Ria as their lynchpin.”
In Almost Every Picture #7 is on show with other Erik Kessels books as part of As Far As You Can See at La Galerie du Jour, Agnès B in Paris from 30 January to 15 March
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