Aram Tanis (Ji Hyun Song) is a visual artist and photographer whose practice explores family, identity, memory and belonging.
Working through long-term photographic projects, Tanis draws on personal experiences to investigate relationships between people, places and histories. His work often centres on absence, anonymity and the desire for connection, exploring the tension between what is known and what remains beyond reach.
Through observation, memory and imagination, he creates images that approach personal experiences without fully explaining them. Rather than following a fixed narrative, his projects develop over time, leaving room for ambiguity and for what remains unseen.
EDUCATION
De Ateliers (Amsterdam / NL), 2004 - 2006
Kaywon, School of Art and Design (Seoul / KR), 2002
Gerrit Rietveld Academy (Amsterdam / NL), 1999 - 2003
EXHIBITIONS / FAIRS (SELECTION) * SOLO / DUO EXHIBITION
2025 - 2026
2angles (Flers / FR)
De Bouwput / All Access Archive All Access Archive #3 (Amsterdam / NL)
Ding Creative Studio X Pink Poodle Society (Antwerp / BE)
Ephemere Photo Fest The Duality of Ephemerality and Permanence (Tokyo / JP)
Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair (Vienna / AT)
Grafiek25 (Amsterdam / NL)
Kunsthuis Waterland Urban Landscapes VII (Purmerend /NL)
Kunstverein Emmerich (Emmerich / DE)
LUM Festival (Seix / FR)
Museum Het Schip (Amsterdam / NL)
Onboards Biennale Relationships (Antwerp / BE)
Open Eye Gallery The People's Garden (Liverpool / UK)
Pang! La Gare (Felletin / FR)
PhotoMonth / The Art Pavilion Longing (London / UK)
SCOPE Miami (Miami / USA)
Vrouw Muskens Anniversary Exhibition (Dongen / NL)
Yeoju International Photo Festival Earth Wanderers (Yeoju / KR)
ZiMMT / Unknown Person City Noise (Leipzig / DE)
2023 - 2024
Aussie Street Festival Brave New World (Sydney / AUS)
Boulevard Scheveningen Zeespiegel - Mirror on The Sea (Scheveningen / NL)
Espace Canopy Collagenotes (Paris / FR)
The Glasgow Gallery of Photography Colour (Glasgow / SCT)
Vrouw Muskens (Dongen / NL)
Watersnoodmuseum Oral History - 1953 (Ouwerkerk / NL)
Zerofeedback / Jinny Street Gallery Signs of Impermanence (Tokyo / JP)
2021 - 2022
Amsterdam Art Week 2022 / The Gallery Club The American Landscape, Part 2 (Amsterdam / NL)
Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’art contemporain Rethinking Nature (Luxembourg / LU)
Foto Wien Rethinking Nature (Vienna / AT)
Frontviews at HAUNT JUBILEE X (Berlin / DE)
Imago Lisboa Rethinking Nature (Lisboa / PT)
Millepiani Contrasts (Rome / IT)
Shutter Hub Postcards from Europe (Cambridge / UK)
2019 - 2020
Athens Photo Festival Photobook Exhibition (Athens / GR)
Blank Wall Gallery Moments of Colour (Athens / GR)
Chania International Photo Festival (Chania / GR)
Fotomuseum Wintherthur Fotobibliothek in Der Passage: LARGE FORMAT - The Photo Book as Picture Atlas (Winterthur / CH)
The Gallery Club Reflection (Amsterdam / NL)
Millepiani Suburbs (Rome / IT)
Nida 2019 Meeting Photography (Vilnius / LT)
Temple Arles Books (Arles / FR)
Van Gogh Gallery Going Back to Where I Used to Stand (Zundert / NL) *
Van Gogh House Acquisitions (Zundert / NL)
2017 - 2018
ARTTRA Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore (Amsterdam / NL) *
Athens Photo Festival Photobook Exhibition (Athens / GR)
BASE The Art Chapter 2018 (Milan / IT)
BASE The Art Chapter 2017 (Milan / IT)
The Black Country Living Museum Reclaiming Our Future (Dudley / UK)
CBK The Vulnerable Body (Amsterdam / NL)
Cork Photo Festival J Book Show (Cork / IE)
Cosmos Arles Books (Arles / FR)
Fahrenheit 39 (Ravenna / IT)
Galleria Cartavetra (Firenze / IT)
Galleria Studio Gennai (Pisa / IT)
Istanbul Photobook Festival Photobooks of The World Exhibition (Istanbul / TR)
Kaserne Basel I Never Read (Basel / CH)
Leporello (Rome / IT)
Liefhertje en De Grote Witte Reus Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore (The Hague / NL) *
MIA Fair (Milan / IT)
MobFORMAT Open House (Derby / UK)
Museum Dr. Guislain Summer Guests (Ghent / BE)
Nieuw Dakota Beautiful Distress (Amsterdam / NL)
PHK18 Seoul The Exchange (Rotterdam / NL)
Het Vijfde Seizoen Parallel Lives (Den Dolder / NL) *
2015 - 2016
37pk / Generation Why in My Time (Haarlem / NL)
Apartment Project Even My Mum Can Make a Book (Berlin / DE)
Art Space Wagemans Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore (Beetsterzwaag / NL) *
C&H Art Space Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore (Amsterdam / NL) *
Cityscapes Gallery Summer in The City 2 (Amsterdam / NL)
Gare de Strasbourg Outsider (Strasbourg / FR)
Guest Studio Louwrien Wijers Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore (Ferwert / NL) *
Hanover Project Café Royal Books: Repro (Preston / UK)
Koel310 Urban Landscapes - Sharing Territories (Alkmaar / NL)
RAM Foundation Art Streams (Rotterdam / NL)
Semblance Here's to Now (Brooklyn / USA)
Stichting IK 5 Year Anniversary (Oost-Souburg / NL)
Volkshotel Off The Strip (Amsterdam / NL) *
2013 - 2014
ARTTRA Above The Crowd (Amsterdam / NL) *
College of Southern Idaho (Idaho / USA)
David O. McKay Library (Idaho / USA)
Künstlerhaus Stuttgart Even My Mum Can Make a Book (Stuttgart / DE)
Mediamatic Hope Step Japan (Amsterdam / NL)
Misulsegye Gallery Space-In & Space-Out (Seoul / KR)
MoMart Balconism (Amsterdam / NL)
MoMart MoMart Presents All (Amsterdam / NL)
Moscow City Hall Gallery (Idaho / USA)
De Nederlandsche Bank I Am Not Doing Anything Until I Feel The Need (Amsterdam / NL)
Nida Art Colony 2014 On Flux of Sand and Aquatic Eco Systems (Vilnius / LT)
North Sea Conference Cinema at Sea (The Hague / NL)
OBA I Am Not Doing Anything Until I Feel The Need (Amsterdam / NL)
Satellietgroep Now Wakes The Sea (Batumi / GE)
Stichting IK Going Back to Where I Used to Stand (Oost-Souburg / NL) *
Stichting IK Where I'm Likely to Find It (Oost-Souburg / NL)
Tetterode Binding Image II (Amsterdam / NL)
TodaysArt 2014 The Best of Badgast (Scheveningen / NL)
The Twin Falls Center for The Arts (Idaho / USA)
2011 - 2012
Van Abbe Museum Art, Property of Politics IV (Eindhoven / NL)
Amsterdam Fund for The Arts Going Back to Where I Used to Stand (Amsterdam /NL) *
Arti et Amicitiae Blueprint (Amsterdam / NL)
Badgast Departure Bay (Scheveningen / NL) *
The Commons World Oceans Film Festival (The Hague / NL)
International Filmfestival Cine al Mar (Sante Marta / CO)
Gallery de Meerse Urban Landscapes III (Hoofddorp / NL)
Ginza Graphic Gallery TDC Exhibition (Tokyo / JP)
Into The Great Wide Open (Vlieland / NL)
KiK Going Back to Where I Used to Stand (Kolderveen / NL) *
Korean Cultural Center New York The Beauti:Fool (New York / USA)
Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen Blowing Smoke and Seahorses (Düsseldorf / DE) *
Museum of Contemporary Art Erarta Undercover (St. Petersburg / RU)
Museum Schiedam Art, Property of Politics II (Schiedam / NL)
MuzyQ Binding Image I (Amsterdam / NL)
RE: Rotterdam 2012 (Rotterdam / NL)
Rewire Festival Beginnings Are in The Offing (The Hague / NL)
Siemens Sanat Now Wakes The Sea (Istanbul / TR)
2009 - 2010
Van Abbe Museum Tricksters Tricked (Eindhoven / NL)
Apartment Project Even My Mum Can Make a Book (Istanbul / TR)
Argument In Between (Tilburg / NL) *
Art Rotterdam (Rotterdam / NL)
Arti et Amicitiae Anti-Beeld (Amsterdam / NL)
ARTTRA Amsterdam Blues (Amsterdam / NL) *
Coalmine Urban Jungle (Winterthur / CH) *
Electron Urban Landscapes II (Breda / NL)
Frontviews Statics and The Movement in Between (Berlin / DE)
Incubate Festival Blueprint (Tilburg / NL) *
Mart House Gallery Urban Jungle (Amsterdam / NL) *
MIA Fair (Milan / IT)
MK Gallery Deconstruction (Rotterdam / NL) *
Off Print (Paris / FR)
De Overslag (Eindhoven / NL)
Publish it Yourself (Nogent sur Marne / FR)
RC de Ruimte Urban Landscapes I (IJmuiden / NL)
Souterrain, Center for Contemporary Art What About Japan (Amsterdam / NL)
Timezone 8 - 798 Art District Blowing Smoke and Seahorses (Beijing / CN) *
Vegas Gallery Stay in The Light (London / UK)
2007 - 2008
Amsterdam Center for Photography Facing Japan (Amsterdam / NL) *
Amsterdam Center for Photography A Perfect Book (Amsterdam / NL)
Arti et Amicitiae Perception of Reality (Amsterdam / NL)
ARTTRA Urban Jungle (Amsterdam /NL) *
Gallery Masters Deconstruction (Amsterdam / NL) *
General Store Print Matters (Sydney / AUS)
Kunsteyssen Off The Strip (Alkmaar / NL) *
Little Big Press (Rome / IT)
London Festival of Architecture The Urban Tendency (London / UK)
London Photo (London / UK)
MaMA Meatdistrict (Rotterdam / NL)
Manzara Perspectives Even My Mum Can Make a Book (Istanbul / TR)
MK Gallery Ji Hyun Song (Rotterdam / NL) *
MK Gallery Review of a Position (Rotterdam / NL)
MK Gallery Review of a Position (Berlin / DE)
Museum Van Bommel Van Dam Van Bommel Van Dam Award (Venlo / NL)
Olympic Parktel Our Space: Six Perspectives (Seoul / KR)
Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande (Bologna / IT)
Photo Festival Naarden Emoticon (Naarden / NL)
Photo-OFF (Paris /FR)
Project(or) Art Fair (Rotterdam / NL)
Year 07 (London / UK)
2005 - 2006
66 East, Center for Urban Culture (Amsterdam / NL)
ARTTRA Deconstruction (Amsterdam / NL) *
De Ateliers Off Spring (Amsterdam / NL) *
Frankfurter Kunstverein Paralleles Leben (Frankfurt / DE)
Grid06 Deconstruction (Amsterdam / NL) *
International Festival for Artistic Photography (Athens / GR)
Kriterion Open Screen Short Film Festival (Amsterdam / NL)
Lloyd Hotel Cet Obscur Objet du Désir (Amsterdam / NL) *
Ministerie van OCW Cet Obscur Objet du Désir (The Hague / NL) *
De Oude Kerk (Amsterdam / NL)
Stichting KOP (Breda / NL)
Vegas Gallery Ground Zero, Size Zero (London / UK)
W139 / Basement (Amsterdam / NL)
Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art (Now Art Institute Melly) Street: Behind The Cliché (Rotterdam / NL)
2003 - 2004
ARTTRA Ji Hyun Song (Amsterdam / NL) *
FOAM Oasis (Amsterdam / NL)
Gallery OOST 99 (Hoorn / NL)
Gerrit Rietveld Academy (Amsterdam / NL)
XX Multiple Gallery (Rotterdam / NL)
COLLECTIONS
Van Abbe Museum
Allreal Collection
Altrecht Art Collection
Fred Wagemans Art Collection
Leiden University Libraries
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
Pieter en Marieke Sanders Collection
Stedelijk Museum
Het Vijfde Seizoen
Van Gogh House Collection
VUmc Art Collection
Watersnoodmuseum
Private Collections
NOMINATIONS / PRIZES
2026
Budapest International Photo Awards Honourable Mention
Form Photo Award Shortlist
2025
Form Photo Award Longlist
2013
Dutch Doc Award Longlist
2007
Fotomuseum Winterthur Plat(t)form 07 Honourable Mention
GD4ART International Competition Longlist
Van Bommel Van Dam Award Shortlist
2006
Holland Casino Art Award Shortlist
GRANTS (SELECTION)
2020
Mondriaan Fund Stipendium Established Artists
2017
Foundation Anna Cornelis Project Grant
2016
Mondriaan Fund Flexible Grant
2015
Mondriaan Fund Stipendium Established Artists
2011
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts Development Budget
Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture Basisstipendium
2010
Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture Basisstipendium
2006
Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture Startstipendium
2003
Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture Startstipendium
Foundation of the Vrijvrouwe van Renswoude Stipendium
RESIDENCIES
2023
Vrouw Muskens (Dongen / NL)
2019
Van Gogh House (Zundert / NL)
2017
Het Vijfde Seizoen (Den Dolder / NL)
2015
Guest Studio Louwrien Wijers (Ferwert / NL)
2013
Stichting IK (Oost-Souburg / NL)
2012
KiK (Kolderveen / NL)
2011
Badgast (Scheveningen / NL)
2010
Argument (Tilburg / NL)
id11 (Delft / NL)
Institute for Provocation (Beijing / CN)
2009
De Overslag (Eindhoven / NL)
2007
Kunsteyssen (Alkmaar / NL)
Kunsthuis SYB (Beetsterzwaag / NL)
ARTIST RELATED ACTIVITIES (SELECTION)
2026
Photo Assignment Humanistisch Verbond (Amsterdam / NL)
2025
Artist Talk Library Leidsche Rijn Center Longing for A Lost Existence (Utrecht / NL)
Presentation Felix Meritis Collective Convo: Perspectives on Adoption (Amsterdam / NL)
2023
Photo Assignment Humanistisch Verbond (Amsterdam / NL)
2020
Fabrica Site and Meaning (Brighton / UK)
2017
Photo Assignment De Correspondent One Hundred Days After The News About Cologne: The Facts
Presentation PhotoCafé (Birmingham / UK)
2016
Curator C&H Art Space (Amsterdam / NL)
2015
Editor Beeldjagers
Photo Assignment Fonds Sluyterman van Loo
Presentation MOTI / Chasse Theatre (Breda / NL)
2014
Artist Talk MoMart (Amsterdam / NL)
Curator MoMart Balconism (Amsterdam / NL)
2013
Curator Tetterode Binding Image II (Amsterdam / NL)
Curator Stichting IK Where I'm Likely to Find It (Oost-Souburg / NL)
2012
Artist Talk Kunstverein Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf / DE)
Curator MuzyQ Binding Image I (Amsterdam / NL)
Curator Arti et Amicitiae Blueprint (Amsterdam / NL)
Guest Teacher Sandberg Institute (Amsterdam / NL)
Presentation Trans Artists (Amsterdam / NL)
2011
Photo Project (Collaboration with Kevin Yuen Kit Lo) Capitalism Kills Love
2010
Artist Talk id11 (Delft / NL)
Huis Marseille Photo Book Marathon (Amsterdam / NL)
PhotoQ Columns Border(Line)
2007
Photo Assignment Only Human
2006
Artist Talk Witte de With (Rotterdam / NL)
Curator Arti et Amicitiae Perception of Reality (Amsterdam / NL)
2005
Photo Assignment Ministry of Economics
2003
Admission Committee Gerrit Rietveld Academy
PHOTO BOOKS / CATALOGUES
2026
Impermanence Vol. II: Anthology Unstaged
SCOPE Miami 2026 SCOPE
Vrouw Muskens Five Years of Art in Healthcare Vrouw Muskens
2025
All Access Archive #3 All Access Archive
Rational Inattention Zerofeedback
2023
101 Contemporary Artists and More Collect Art
Signs of Impermanence Zerofeedback
2019
It Was Never Personal Self-Published
2018
Beautiful Distress Beautiful Distress
2017
Fireflies Origini Edizioni
Parallel Lives Het Vijfde Seizoen
2016
5 Year Anniversary Stichting IK Stichting IK
Here's to Now Semblance
2015
Pieter en Marieke Sanders: Object Onder/Object Below Walther König
2014
Adulthood This Very Instant
Space In & Space Out Misulsegye Gallery
2012
20+ Years Witte de With Witte de With
Amsterdam Blues Self-Published
The Beauti:Fool Gallery Korea
2011
Badgast - In Between PS1 New York and Shanghai Satellietgroep
Blind Dogs, Fallen Men Café Royal Books
Op Locatie id11
Self Publish, Be Naughty Self Publish, Be Happy
TDC Volume 21 Typography Director Club Tokyo
2010
Allreal Fotosammlung 2009 Studio Achermann
Art, Property of Politics II Freethinkers’ Space Van Abbe Museum
Blowing Smoke and Seahorses Timezone 8
Smoke Bath Seems
2008
5 in Balance Only Human
Urban Jungle Self-Published
2007
Changing Roles: Artists' Personal Views and Wishes Witte de With
Van Bommel Van Dam Award Museum Van Bommel Van Dam
Emoticon Photo Festival Naarden
2005
Paralleles Leben Frankfurter Kunstverein
2003
Ji Hyun Song Self-Published
Maruta 731 Self-Published
PUBLICATIONS (SELECTION)
2027
The Great Dutch Art Calendar
River Margin International Literary Journal
2026
The Fallow Ground North of The Fortress, South of The Forest
Ode to Them Wish
Phases Magazine North of The Fortress, South of The Forest
Soft Magazine
Tiger Tea Zine Volume 3
u1 Gallery Defining Moments - The Core Message
WAER Magazine WAER talks to Aram Tanis
ZERO.NINE Magazine Inyeon
2025
Balmly Aram Tanis Captures The Shifting States of Living With Mental Vulnerability
Exhibit Around Urban Animals - We Are Not Alone
The Great Dutch Art Calendar
Immemory Magazine North of The Fortress, South of The Forest
imQuadrat 12b Japan Special Edition
Loop Zine #3 Home
Mnemotope 008
Revive #3 Fertile Ground
Tiger Tea Zine Volume 2
Visual Poetry Journal NO 1
ZERO.NINE Magazine In The Shadow We Bloom
2024
F-Stop Magazine Cities 2024
Hominum Journal Issue 7
JUP Photography Magazine Off The Strip
Suboart Magazine Nr. 27
2023
Aatonau Aram Tanis: Contemporary Urban Surroundings
Collect Art #22 Spring Issue
Docu Magazine Docu Book: Volume 11 - Best of Documentary & Street Photography
F-Stop Magazine Open Theme Issue
Trois Points - Magazine for Contemporary Photography Volume 2: Follow The Line
2021
Phases Magazine Dreaming of A Pool in The Rain
Werkhaus Zine #2 Still Life
2020
Der Greif Guest-Room (Selection by Holly Hay)
Haarlems Dagblad Red Light District: Japanese Photography
Ijmuider Courant Red Light District: Japanese Photography
Leidsch Dablad Red Light District: Japanese Photography
Noordhollands Dagblad Red Light District: Japanese Photography
Villa d'Arte Exclusive Selection of Japanese and Dutch Works
2019
F-Stop Magazine Abstraction
Witte Rook Japanese Sightlines of Aram Tanis and Jacolijn Verhoef
Zundertse Bode Artists Look at Japan and Van Gogh
2018
The Great Dutch Art Calendar
Het Parool Not Necessarily Forlorn
2017
De Correspondent One Hundred Days After The News About Cologne
GUP Off The Strip
New Dawn Off The Strip
2016
New Dawn Fireflies Ain't Here Anymore
2015
Extra Extra #1
New Dawn #5
Platform Platvorm #2
De Stienser Exhibition Aram Tanis at Guest Studio Louwrien Wijers
2014
Calendar I Am Not Doing Anything Until I Feel The Need
Cultureel Persbureau The Weird World of Aram Tanis
Great Amsterdam Art Calendar
Landscape Stories #20 Night
New Dawn Binding Image
2013
PZC Are Memories Reliable?
Satellietgroep Zeespiegel
2012
GRAPHIC #24 Amsterdam
Monu #17 Next Urbanism
Multiple MK Edition MK Edition Blue
2011
Rattle e. 11
Rheinische Post Aram Tanis' Bilder Sollen Den Blick Schärfen
2010
Abitare #21 Visual Lesson
Beeswax Magazine Issue 6
Ground Magazine Blowing Smoke and Seahorses
Landscape Stories #02 Snow Blind
NRC Next Feeling of Alienation Through Subdued Photos
Het Parool Intimate Face of Anthill Peking
Positive Magazine Blind Dogs, Fallen Men
2008
GUP Things We Like
Pf Magazine Our Eye on The Future
De Volkskrant Only Animals Left in Desolate Cities
2006
Art Monthly UK #301
GUP New Dutch Heroes
2005
Allgemeine Zeitung Von Der Hölle ins Paradies
Frankfurter Offenbach Post Gastland Korea im Fokus Junger Kunst
Frankfurter Rundschau Die Rollen Des Ausländers
Ministry of Culture Punt Forbidden Art
PhotoQ Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Finds Photo of Aram Tanis Offensive
Die Tageszeitung Schneller Altern: Fotografien aus Korea
Volkskrant Hans Aarsman Collection