Indra Moonen was born in Geleen, the Netherlands, on August the 1st 1983. At the age of 18 she started a professional education in photography at Syntra Hasselt (BE). After this she took up studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hasselt, also photography, higher grade as well as specialisation, where she graduated in 2009. Since then she followed several workshops and courses in alternative techniques such as wet & dry plate collodion and daguerreotype photography. Today she still works with these older techniques and became a part of F68 in 2018.
“Historical photographic processes appeal to me because they make you go back in time where nothing is to be taken for granted and a slow pace is warranted. On top of that a whole new variety in possibilities unfold to add this extra layer of expression to an image. The cumbersome nature of for example the wet plate collodion process intrigued me but also its dark characteristics. It adds to the melancholic mood I’m looking for in my work.
The time you need for preparing a shoot, creating and finishing an image gives a certain tranquility of mind. You can’t quicken the process, have to take your time for each step, think carefully before acting and that way are forced to enjoy and live the moment you find yourself into. It’s in stark contrast with the hastiness of the world nowadays, and perhaps symbolises my desire to escape from it.”
Exhibitions in i.a. Maastricht (NL), Heerlen (NL), Weert (NL), Hasselt (BE), Brussels (BE), France (FR), London (UK) and Istanbul (TR).