Provocative and playful, Blommers & Schumm's images sit at the intersection of fine art and photography

When Dutch photography duo Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm met in the early nineties, it signalled the start of a creative partnership defined by provocation and playfulness. Known as Blommers & Schumm, work is at the intersection of fashion and fine art, with a dollop of added humour.

The duo’s editorials for publications include Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman, Dazed & Confused, Self Service, Purple, AnOther Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine, encompassing an avant-garde informality throughout. Work is defined by an uncanny edge – the details are polished, yet something is a little off.

It is a career Blommers & Schumm are reflecting on as their first major solo exhibition, opens at Foam in Amsterdam, which unites 25 years of work. ‘Through the years we’ve done so many different shoots,’ they say. ‘Now, we are combining the old with the new and somehow, they work together in a way that means the time difference doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve shot photos through the years in similar locations, and it contributes to a kind of timeless vibe.’

Nothing is quite as it seems in images which invite a second look. Today, they seem computer generated in their offbeat composition, but there is nothing unnatural in the intricately staged illusions we see here. A glass, teetering on the edge of disaster, a model holding a seemingly impossible pose and a face made from household items, all stay faithful to an enigmatic perversion of the status quo.

‘We’ve enjoyed tripping down memory lane for this exhibition,’ they add. ‘ It’s so nice to relive all the collaborations and travels. Despite the diversity of our work, we have loved seeing the connection between them all coming through here.’

Blommers & Schumm – Mid-Air at Foam Amsterdam until 23 February 2026

foam.org