Background information
"Marrigje DE MAAR (*1944 in The Hague) photographs the ephemeral world of home, of being rooted. She understands each interior space as a portrait of identity. A sociologist by training, she searches for those impressive and magical places where families have met for generations and where life itself seems to have 'burrowed' into a house. Very significant is also her unusual treatment of light - her photographs are true masterpieces of chiaroscuro.
Content
Over six years and five trips to China, a substantial series formed. While huge residential areas in many Chinese cities were being demolished to make way for the new age and its ways of life, Marrigje de MAAR discovered a still surprisingly wide range of types and uses of classical residential buildings. Here, for the first time, the homely, time-honored character of Chinese households and all their cultural diversity is brought directly before our eyes." (© Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2011)