Dutch photographer Yvonne Lacet constructs a clean yet abstract world in her photographs. Based on paper and studio-lit, the images reflect reality, but are stripped down, giving view to shapes, color and light. Though the images never depict a certain place or area, ‘the city’ itself is a recurring theme. In Lacet’s work, characteristics of a bustling metropolis become quiet, structured and simply beautiful. Lacet recently told us more about her series Virtual Relief, which was her contribution to the ‘Bouw in Beeld Prijs’ in 2009, an award initiated by one of the largest construction companies in The Netherlands.

Tell us about Virtual Relief.
“The series is part of a commissioned project, titled Gimme Shelter. I wanted to approach the virtual world of video games as a means of escape from the real world. A place where you can wander and dream, and where anything is possible and nothing has real consequences—a place where the daily grind of things can be forgotten and you can be someone else all together.”

It seems first there is a gathering/accumulation, then the explosion, then the relief. The title Virtual Relief sounds as if there was something happening before?
“The title refers to the relief that you can find by escaping from the daily reality by wandering into another world. To some it might also suggest that this virtual relief isn’t ‘real’ and that there’s always the non-virtual counterpart waiting when you get back—there lies an interesting modern day dilemma.”

Besides your personal artistic style, the images are very different from each other. Why do they work for you as a series?
“I show completely different images because I want to explore different aspects of virtual worlds. This way the richness and complexity of these worlds is illustrated, making them all the more plausible ‘escapes’.”

This post was contributed by photographer Antje Peters.