Text-to-image generators have gained tremendous popularity over the past years. This specific application of artificial intelligence allows users to create digital images based on textual input. It seems that any desired image is just a few clicks away, with little to no technological knowledge about the inner workings needed.  

But what happens underneath the hood? How does a text-to-image AI exactly work? This step-by-step explainer will lift (some) of the curtains of image generation and shed light inside the black box of AI. 

Disclaimer: this is a simplified explanation of text-to-image generation. In reality, there are many different types of generation models, approaches and techniques. To learn more about this complex technology, we recommend reading 

Inside the Black Box


Results

Text to Image explained

In a four-part series led by acclaimed Polaroid artists Rhiannon Adams, Ellen Carey & John Reuter, and Marcel Veldman and Foam 3h alumnus Ece Gökalp, the participating students were able to use the recently launched Polaroid I-2 camera – the first advanced instant camera with built-in manual controls. Moreover, they had the chance to discuss their perspectives about the possibilities of storytelling and the enduring relevancy of this unique medium.

Students as well as young, self-made creatives approached the medium from various angles and shed light on its artistic, social, and technological significance by pushing the boundaries of what instant film can achieve. The results of their collective efforts are now on display as part of an exclusive online exhibition.

This programme is made possible with the support of Polaroid.

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam. 

PORTRAITURE
AND
THE PHYSICAL
PHOTOGRAPH

“Polaroid photo processes are completed in situ, there is no external hand involved. It’s pure – just me, the camera, the environment, and the film.” 

POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHY 
AS AN ARTISTIC MEDIUM

CAPTURING 
REAL 
               LIFE

“In between all the skateboard tricks and stuff, I like something contrasty. Instant film for me is the perfect way to do this. It gives you an example of the free life aside from the actual skateboard.”

Polaroid Photography in Multiple Perspectives

Foam Talent Digital 2024-2025

center

How does a new generation of image-makers from Turkey use photography to reflect on the world around them? 

As part of the multi-year project Kısmet, this online group exhibition gives a snapshot of the emerging community of contemporary image-makers from Turkey. Kısmet is inspired by longstanding cultural, diplomatic and economic ties between Turkey and the Netherlands and delves into the diverse and intricate facets of Turkish visual culture, as seen through the lens of different generations of image-makers. Here, we present the work of four talented visual artists, born after 1990, whose voices will shape the vast visual landscape in Turkey, and beyond, in the upcoming years. 

Showing a diverse range of visual styles, what connects these four artists is the profound personal investment they put in their work. Their photography holds a personal dimension that goes beyond ‘merely’ having an affinity for the chosen subject matter. Rather, their practice and the resulting bodies of work reveal a deep connection to their perception of the world around them. What stands out are the distinct translations of their inner worlds, whether this is in the methodology, subject matter or aesthetics. 

For Oğulcan Arslan, the personal comes forward not only through the story he documents, but also through photographic techniques he uses. In 

, he intimately captures a friendship by adjusting light, exposure and composition to the emotions he experiences himself or from his friend. 

Alp Peker finds solace in their photographic practice to voice their protest against unspoken issues and social taboos they experience on a daily basis. Their photographs, shown here under the title 

, are an ode to the community Alp lives in, their goals, struggles, and weirdnesses.  

Kıvılcım S. Güngörün defines her work as autobiographical fiction. The collages in 

are a direct translation of her inner workings: intuitive visual responses to questions that pop into her mind, or new questions that arise during the process.  

, Cansu Yıldıran studies the power dynamics and gender inequality that they encountered in their ancestral village in Northern Turkey. Inspired by the personal stories of the women of their family, Cansu creates emotional atmospheres that investigate their own sense of identity, of belonging and the continuous search for a safe space.

Kismet: online exhibition intro

How to

Oğulcan Arslan 

From the series All the Rivers Flow In the Nuthouse

               

Alp Peker

Untitled

From the series Amel Defteri: a notebook of deeds

From the series Amel defteri: A Notebook of Deeds

             

Kıvılcım S. Güngörün 

From the series I lab yu

From the series I Lab Yu

“My day becomes my laboratory, and I lab back.” 

                          

Cansu Yıldıran 

From the series The Dispossessed

      

Image from the series After Anahit, 2023

The Golden Horn, Istanbul

Dad and his Indian Friends, April 2017

Kısmet: New Perspectives. Four Contemporary Image-makers from Turkey

At Foam, we believe that photography is a powerful tool for young people to express themselves. That's why fostering the next generation of photographers is at the heart of our museum's mission. Foam has partnered with Meervaart Studio over the past six years to create beautiful photography workshops for talented young people in Amsterdam, led by experienced photographers from Foam's extensive network. 

We're proud to celebrate this fruitful collaboration with a hybrid presentation in the project space of the museum and on Foam’s digital platform. This special showcase is an opportunity to learn more about the work of five young makers who have been part of our many educational photography projects over the years. These programmes have given them the tools and guidance to capture their visions of the world around them. 

As you explore the exhibition, you'll be struck by the creativity and originality of these young photographers. Each project highlights the value of providing young people with a platform to share their voices. Their work will inspire and encourage others to see the world in new and exciting ways. 

Join us in celebrating the work of this generation of young Amsterdam creatives.  

FINN // at the table god unhinged his ribs

Intro

Kyara 
Bhiekharie 

Rhiannon

I Want to Break Free

Karma Chameleon

Kyara Bhiekarie over haar werk 'Mijn moeder, de ZZP-er'

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Fashion

about the artist

Dina
Bousbaa

Growing pains. Chefchaouen 2017

The same route as yesterday. Tangiers 2017

Sea of opportunities. Assilah 2017

Reaching out. Amsterdam 2016

May our future be as bright. Assilah 2017

Thoughts about tomorrow. Assilah 2017

Dina Bousbaa over haar werk 'Backbone'

Iyanla 
Etnel

Pimba Doti

Bere tan bere

Teri Den

Iyanla Etnel over haar werk 'Te Yu No Sabi Owru Bun, Yu No Kan Sabi Nyun Bun'

"In the evening we put a curtain in front of the mirror because someone can harm you through the mirror."

Te Neti Doro

Trowé Gi Gron' Mama

Etnel explores the relationship between her and her late aunt. They are connected by the same aching feet, but out of shame within the family, this is not spoken about.  

Deng Di Du Mi

Yasemin 
Demirözcan 

"As a child of the diaspora, I've always felt a distance between myself and my ancestral land, constantly questioning the concept of home."

Fields of Solace

"Life here is simple and far from the hustle and bustle of the city, where they live the rest of the year."

Directing The Flock

Canım Dedem

Yasemin Demirözcan over haar werk 'Strangely Familiar'

Flying Shoe

Reloading Memories

"My uncle playing with his air rifle in front of my grandparents' house in Yeşildere. This is where my father spent the first ten years of his life."

A Shepherd’s Pride

Wheels of Legacy

"A Renault Toros (the Turkish-built version of the R12) navigating through a vast, open landscape, symbolizing solitude and the exploration of my identity."

Tal 
Ben Yakir 

FINN // came apart in my hands

BENNI // when i ate his ribs i became a man

BENNI // or maybe just ribs braided together at the table.

RORY // there was a table i sat & ate at until i was something.

RIBS

JOHN // you know when you become something it eats you?

RORY // there was a table i sat & ate at until i was something

Foam Talent Call 2023

Woman I from the series FLAT DEATH and other pictures, 2015

Foam Talent Network Brunch, 2022

Empowering the voices of Amsterdam’s youth through photography

Foam proudly presents the work of a new generation of artists in the group exhibition 

. The 20 participating photographers address the pressing problems of our times. Together, they explore and extend the boundaries of what photography is today.   

As a diverse group of artists, each of them presents their own visual language. Through their works, they critically look at the world around us. They use the photographic medium to question collective affairs and ongoing issues happening in the world. At the same time, they explore how these issues have an impact on a personal level, moving between a local, historical, symbolic, emotional and bodily perspective. 

This group of artists uses a wide range of photographic genres to tell their stories. With portraiture and documentary photography, digital created images and archival material, the talents create a space for the viewer to sit with situations and current events, to reflect and respond to.   

Complementing the physical experience at Foam, this digital exhibition offers a deeper look at the Talents and their works. What goes on behind the surface? What is the inspiration? What techniques are used? This exhibition combines artistic context with educational perspectives. Read, see, and hear more about the themes and topics and explore, engage, and interact with the works! 

 are: Marwan Bassiouni, Myriam Boulos, Olgaç Bozalp, Laura Chen, Kata Geibl, Lina Geoushy, Marvel Harris, Alexandra Rose Howland, Ange-Frédéric Koffi, Czar Kristoff, Yushi Li, Carla Liesching, Seif Kousmate, Pavo Marinović, Diego Moreno, Donja Nasseri, Ghazaleh Rezaei, Linn Phyllis Seeger, Ritsch Sisters, Donavon Smallwood.

Talent issue of Foam Magazine are supported by the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

The exhibition is made possible by Kleurgamma Fine-Art Photolab and Oschatz Visuelle Medien.

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Gemeente Amsterdam. 

In 2022 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and receives a contribution through the Mondriaan Fund from the Ministerie van OCW.

The Feast Inside, from the series Paintings Dreams and Love

Graphic Foam Talent 2022

How to...

Czar Kristoff

Audio fragment for To Destroy Is To Build

from the series To Destroy is To Build

The momentary monument 'To Destroy Is To Build' is not only a web-to-print project but web-to-print-to-monument-to-publication-to... It leaks and flows like new media, like the flood, like the architecture of future society.

from the series To Destroy Is To Build

Myriam Boulos

Audio fragment for Tell the Trees to Smile by Myriam Boulos

Tell the Trees to Smile

from the series Tell the Trees to Smile

I remember Andrea's tears while we were walking towards his destroyed house that he was seeing for the first time since the explosion.

“All the war memories rushed back...
We
rushed to the corridors to hide which was exactly our moves and practice during the Lebanese civil war when the bombing would start.”

Zeina
worked on a rescue mission with a Chile team for 3 days.
The Chile team thought that someone was stuck under the ruins of a building.
“During these
3 days, the hope of finding someone was controlling us.”

Michel lost
his hearing aid during the explosion.
When he wants to listen to music, he puts the radio against his ear.

On August 4, Walid was at home with me. He was on this same balcony when the explosion happened. (...) (I cried in his room and in his arms every day for a few months after the explosion.)

When I gave her this tiny flower, my grandmother told me “Dis aux arbres de sourire”, which means tell the trees to smile.

Marwan Bassiouni

Audio fragment for New Western Views by Marwan Bassiouni

from the series New Swiss Views

from the series New British Views

from the series New Dutch Views

Ghazaleh Rezaei

'Lamentation' from the series The Martyrs

'The Pieta' from the series The Martyrs

'Carrying of the Martyr's Portrait' from the series The Martyrs

Bringing to Light

'Burial' from the series The Martyrs

Kata Geibl

from the series See Daylight

from the series Nothing New Under the Sun

Audio clip for Kata Geibl - There is Nothing New Under The Sun / See Daylight

from the series There Is Nothing New Under the Sun / See Daylight

Donja Nasseri

from the series Woman, who would be King

Audio clip for Donja Nasseri - Woman, who would be King

Alexandra Rose Howland

Audio clip for Alexandra Rose Howland - Leave and Let Us Go

from the series Leave and Let Us Go

Pavo Marinović

Audio clip for Pavo Marinovic - Marble Ass

Marble Ass

Talent Digital 2022

How can documentary photography help create awareness or help us understand certain environments, communities, cultures or even the medium itself?

We take a look at projects by three artists that explore how photography can create artistic portrayels of social societies. Myriam Boulos (LB), a 2022 Foam Talent, shows a series of portraits of friends and strangers that have been affected by the blast and economy in Beirut. Rahim Fortune (US) uses documentary photography to ask fundamental questions about American identity. Lastly, Bieke Depoorter (BE) 

explores the complexities of the photographic enterprise, grappling with the relationship between photographer and subject.

The three artists are featured in the online talk 

Navigating the media industry - Photographer's Perspective

. For many photographers today, working on commissions and assignments within the media industry helps to build and contribute to a sustainable career. How can an artist navigate the territory between their own practice and the media industry at large?

online-exhibitions

Text to Image explained

Polaroid Photography in Multiple Perspectives

Foam Talent Digital 2024-2025

Kısmet: New Perspectives. Four Contemporary Image-makers from Turkey

Empowering the voices of Amsterdam’s youth through photography

Talent Digital 2022

On Social Documentary Photography

Potatonality Test

ABC da Cana Typewriter

Foam Talent 2020

Foam Talent 2021