Since 2008, I have been working on the Noord-Holland Grid Project, a systematic photographic investigation in which I divided the province of Noord-Holland into thousands of quadrants. Each coordinate is visited and photographed, creating an accumulating archive of place and transformation across fifteen years.
This project emerged from a simple constraint: to photograph not what draws the eye, but what the system dictates. By surrendering aesthetic choice to geographic coordinates, I encounter the perpetual present of the ordinary: the overlooked, the transitional, the spaces between destinations. The grid becomes both methodology and conceptual frame, revealing patterns invisible to selective observation.
Beyond the Grid, my photographic practice explores the aesthetic dimension of engineered landscapes and utilitarian infrastructure. Series such as “Built,” “Engineered,” and “Scaled” examine how systematic human intervention transforms natural and urban environments into meticulously managed spaces. I am drawn to the unintended beauty embedded in functional structures—the quiet monumentality of bridges, water management systems, industrial zones, and the geometric precision of contemporary Dutch landscape.
When figures appear in my work, they emphasize scale, solitude, and the human experience within these vast, designed environments. My images investigate themes of space, control, alienation, and wonder—inviting viewers to recognize beauty in the overlooked infrastructures that shape modern existence.
The work exists at the intersection of conceptual art, documentary practice, and literary observation. Alongside my photographic work, I maintain a writing practice exploring similar themes of systematic observation, time, and the everyday at niekdegreef.nl. The complete Noord-Holland Grid archive can be explored at noordhollandfoto.nl.
I live and work in Heiloo, Noord-Holland, at the center of the grid.
WORK:
Fine Art Portfolio: niekdegreef.works (you are here)
Grid Project Archive: noordhollandfoto.nl
Writing & Observations: niekdegreef.nl
Contact: n.degreef@gmail.com | 06-24361598
Instagram: @fromthepolder
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I sell prints. If you want to buy a print, please visit my Prints page.
