My name is Leonie van der Helm (1973). I am a contemporary visual artist, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. My work focuses on the human body as a carrier of past experiences. In 2024 I graduated with honors from the Photo Academy Amsterdam with my installation Naked with the Truth.
After finishing a one-year vocational training in 2018 I started working as a freelance photographer, focusing on portraits. In addition to commissioned work, I worked on a couple of personal projects. In 2021 Museum De Lakenhal (Leiden) acquired and exhibited ten of my portraits, that were part of my project Locked Down.
During my education at the Photo Academy, my work became more and more personal. I worked on my project Oud Zeer that was published in the online series Debuut Pf of Pf magazine in January 2024. This was the prelude to my graduation project Naked With The Truth, in which I started adding physical interventions to my photographic work.
My work is focusing on the effects of trauma on the (female) body. I am looking for the essence of each individual image and try to reinforce it by tearing, cutting, sanding or painting my prints. I damage my photos, and then restore them to a greater or lesser extent. It has become my way of visualizing my inner self in all its facets.