Issue #29 / What's Next? / Paulien Oltheten

When we look at Paulien Oltheten's work capturing and examining the gestures of people in the street, we're prompted to keep an eye on our own behaviour. Her storytelling departs from the photographic registrations of small observations which capture her and which she captures on film while wandering through the streets of a city (e.g. in Japan). She extends her snapshots of city life with commenting sketches or words, restages certain patters of behaviour herself or asks passers-by to do so. In the final stage, if there is ever one, these different layers arrange themselves at random, thus preventing the observer from taking a quick-andeasy conclusion.