On 15 May, Amsterdam-based photographer
Jackie Mulder releases her first artist book. Known for her unique approach to photography and mixed media art, Mulder presents Thought Trails, a visual fusion of present and past. The book showcases her signature style, where self-made photographs are transformed into dreamlike compositions.
Thought Trails is available in three editions: an artist book, a special edition including a fine art print with embroidered details, and a unique artwork edition housed in a handmade box that also functions as a frame for the included artwork. All editions are exclusively available worldwide via the artist's website.
Manual techniques
Jackie Mulder's work always begins with a self-made photograph or a complex stratification of photos. She then transfers the images onto various surfaces, applying labour-intensive manual techniques. These images are deconstructed and reconstructed through the use of beeswax, embroidery and drawing. The layered approach results in non-linear narratives, while the space between the layers creates a visual echo. For the book, Mulder has photographed these works. Turning the pages invites the viewer to enter a different world and create a story of their own.
Some of the images in the book, specifically the ones found inside the cover, refer to the feelings she experienced in her childhood. © Jackie Mulder
After a career as a fashion designer and later graphic designer, Jackie Mulder graduated from the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam in 2021 and fully embraced life as an artist. Her youth has been deeply influential in shaping her journey and artistic process. Raised in a strict religious household and a stifling environment, which she left at seventeen, Mulder started drawing as a teenager to create a sense of safety. The result is a distinctive working method that culminates in complex artworks where photography is the foundation from which a new reality emerges.
Jackie Mulder:
I hope my work invites both wonder and wandering. I want to encourage people to move with it, let their thoughts flow and be surprised. Nature has taken on an increasingly prominent place and role in my visual universe, expressed through botanical elements, objects and textures. It's a reflection on contemporary lifestyles; we try to silence the depth of our own thoughts and fill the void with devices and artifice. Nature becomes an ideal place to lose yourself and follow new trails - or create new ones - that guide you to healing.
The book releases on 15 May at Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam, where curator and art historian Elisa Medde hosts an introduction and Q & A to Mulder’s work and the making of the book.
Want to see more of Jackie Mulder’s compositions in person? From 22 May to 31 August 2025, she presents an installation as part of the group exhibition We Are Nature at Singer Laren. In the Netherlands, she is represented by Janknegt Gallery, which will also showcase a selection of her work this autumn at Enter Art Fair (28-31 August, Copenhagen), Unseen (18-21 September) and PAN Amsterdam (1-9 November). In Switzerland, she is represented by Taste Contemporary, who will present a solo exhibition of her work in January 2026.
Jackie Mulder
With her unique approach to photography and mixed media art, Jackie Mulder (64) challenges the viewer's perception and explores the boundaries of the medium. Since 2021, the Amsterdam-based artist has been working on her ongoing project Thought Trails. Her autonomous work has been recognised as a finalist for the Gomma Photography Grant (2020-2022) and the Fotofestival Naarden Talent Prize (2021). Mulder's art is collected internationally and has been on view at fairs including Art Rotterdam, Unseen and PAN Amsterdam. Since 2024, her work has also been exhibited abroad in Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Geneva.
@jackiemulder
www.jackiemulder.nl
