Pas de culte

Pas de culte (‘no service’) presents hundreds of photographs of places of worship in the Netherlands and its former colonies, spanning over 185 years - the length of photography’s history. The selection includes works by Pieter Oosterhuis, G.H. Breitner, Alfred Stieglitz, Adolph Mulder, and Ed van der Elsken, alongside many anonymous photographers, sourced from various Dutch collections and archives. Many of these images have rarely, if ever, been shown. The photographs capture exteriors - whether surrounded by vegetation, standing alone on flatlands, hidden in jungles, or emerging from floodwaters - as well as interiors, empty in daylight, filled during services, or in states of ruin, restoration, or demolition. Curated by Kienjet and Van Zoetendaal, the images are arranged in an associative sequence, creating a visual rhythm. The flow is occasionally interrupted by brief interviews with four contemporary artists - Marinus Boezem, Paul Kooiker, Marc Mulders, and Fiona Tan - each offering their perspective on places of worship. The book opens with an insightful introduction by photo historian Róman Kienjet, who also conducted the interviews.