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I’m delighted to share my latest project with you, a body of work that has been several years in the making.
Recently, my work received recognition from the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney. I was selected for the Open Program and also became a finalist in the Landscape Photography Awards, with my work to be exhibited at Bondi Beach, Sydney.
Please scroll down to discover more about the project and explore the images I’ve created through a combination of traditional and contemporary technologies.
To view more of my other work, please visit the portfolios via the menu at the top of the page.
Liminal Terrain
The word Liminal refers to a state of being “in-between” or standing on a threshold. It describes a time, place, or experience that exists between two stages, states, or conditions of transition.
My most recent Liminal Terrain project explores the convergence of fluid art, perception, and imagined scale, where macroscopic worlds unfold as vast, inhabitable landscapes. Through the integration of small human figures, the images evoke exploration, curiosity, and the human impulse to navigate the unknown.
Cellular structures resemble oceans, caves, and shifting terrains, blurring distinctions between the organic, geological, and cosmic. My work reflects on the interconnectedness of all systems, where inner and outer worlds mirror one another.
Transforming pigment into immersive environments, these series reveal new dimensions and invite contemplation of scale, presence, and perception. The viewer is positioned within a liminal space—between science and imagination—where familiar activities become acts of discovery within a living, evolving universe.
Sonja de Sterke BRISBANE/Australia. ARTIST STATEMENT
Liminal Terrain explores the convergence of fluid art, perception, and imagined scale, where macroscopic worlds unfold as vast, inhabitable landscapes. Through the integration of small human figures, the images evoke exploration, curiosity, and the human impulse to navigate the unknown. Cellular structures resemble oceans, caves, and shifting terrains, blurring distinctions between the organic, geological, and cosmic. My work reflects on the interconnectedness of all systems, where inner and outer worlds mirror one another. Transforming pigment into immersive environments, these series reveal new dimensions and invite contemplation of scale, presence, and perception. The viewer is positioned within a liminal space—between science and imagination—where familiar activities become acts of discovery within a living, evolving universe.
BIOGRAPHY
Sonja de Sterke is a Brisbane-based photographer. Originally from the Netherlands, she has lived and worked in Australia for many years.Alongside her commercial photographic career, she has developed a photographic art practice shaped by a longstanding curiosity about nature, pattern, scale and perception. Her work combines experimental photography and digital techniques, drawing inspiration from natural forms and processes.