simonvantil@gmail.com
cast bronze,
cast from a pre-Columbian double-
chambered vessel attributed to
Chimú culture, ca AD 900-1470,
and two Roman coins, ca. AD 69-79
and AD 81-96.
25x15x12 cm.
Camera, 2026
cast bronze,
25x15x12 cm.
ceramic pre-Columbian vessel,
attributed to Chimú culture, dated
between AD 900-1470.
The double-chambered vessel in the
shape of two jaguars was once a ritual
object that supported the crossing to
an afterlife as burial gift. Cast with its
openings covered by ancient Roman
coins, defaced by having drilled pin-
hole apertures at their centres, the
ceremonial vessel that was once lifted
from the darkness of a grave is now
repurposed as an optical instrument,
a double camera obscura that parallels
binocular human eyesight.
photogram, gelatin silver print,
40x120 cm.
Framed 90x180 cm.
photogram, gelatin silver print,
40x80 cm.
Framed 90x140 cm.
the House of the Orchard is known
for its frescos that adorn the walls of
two bedroom spaces, offering views
onto an orchard through life-like
representation. This multi-part work
looks at the imitation of nature and
early history of Western painting
through the historical beginning of
photography in the form of the photo-
gram.These lush views are however
starkly reduced to the painted pergola
panels that circumscribe the blue bed-
room. The panels are each copied as
photograms by exposing a lattice
structure made of cherry tree leaves
on b/w paper, resulting in an image
of a lattice framework on a black
ground, identical to the original
painted representations.
2025-2026, photogram, gelatin
silver print, 40x80 cm.
Framed 90x140 cm.
tree leaves, held together with cellulose
tape, 2025-2026
photogram, gelatin silver print,
40x120 cm.
Framed 90x180 cm.
Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam
January 19 - March 28, 2018
Traveled to
C/O Berlin, Amerika-Haus, Berlin (DE)
September 29 - December 1, 2018
Traveled to
Mai Mano Haz, Hungarian House of
Photography, Budapest (HU)
February 1 - March 17, 2019
The traveling exhibition Back to the
Future, the 19th century in the 21st
century, paired 19th-century photo-
graphy with contemporary practices,
drawing parallels in motifs, methods
and means.
two gelatin silver prints,
each 28,5x36 cm.
Framed 72,5x85 cm.
pre-Columbian Chimú burial vessels.
Photographed inside a darkened tent
with a small hole in the top, the objects
were lit by daylight during exposures
that lasted up to several hours,
gradually appearing from the dark-
ness. Yet, as a result of erroneous
double exposures on already exposed
film, the artefacts almost disappear
from the pictures instead.
Untitled, 2015-2018-2023,
two gelatin silver prints,
each 28,5x36 cm.
Framed 72,5x85 cm.
three ritual pre-Columbian Chimú
burial vessels, ca. AD 900-1470,
wool blanket, two ash wood elements
Untitled, 2015,
six pre-Columbian Chimú vessels,
this work is no longer extant.
Untitled, 2015, oak wood with
brass inlay, no longer extant.
chromogenic color print,
24x18 cm. Framed 26x20 cm.
of RMO, Royal Museum of
Antiquities, Leiden, NL
photographed by moonlight,
gelatin silver print, 52,5x65,3 cm.
Framed 110x130 cm.
This work was photographed in
nighttime, by the light of a full
moon, and recorded a shadow
cast on the dark side of the Earth.
Untitled, 2013
photographed by moonlight,
gelatin silver print, 52,5x65,3 cm.
Framed 110x130 cm.
I Give Myself, Van Gogh Museum,
installed throughout the permanent
collection, May 20,2015 - January 17,
2016
I Give Myself at the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam, on display
alongside Van Gogh's paintings and
drawings, was held on the occasion
of the commemoration of the 125th
anniversary of Vincent van Gogh's
death.
Untitled, 2015
double exposed photograph,
photographed by moonlight,
gelatin silver contact print,
10x12,5 cm. Framed 46x52 cm.
of the World, Huis Marseille Museum
for Photography, Amsterdam,
September 7, - December 8, 2013
chromogenic print,
image 180x140 cm.
Framed 220x180 cm.
nautical twilight), 2012
chromogenic color print,
149x190 cm.
Framed 153x194 cm.
The work Light over Horizon
(sunset to nautical twilight) shows
a seascape photographed with an
extended exposure that started at
sunset and lasted till nautical twilight
(the moment when the sun is 12
degrees below the horizon and all
natural light has disappeared from
the atmosphere). Inherently
methodical, this photograph's
exposure time ran parallel to the full
duration of twilight, as daylight faded
into darkness and the visibility of the
world slowly diminished, yet the
actual exposure ran counter to this
decrease, accumulating more light
over time due to a gradual increase
in aperture, starting with the smallest
lens opening and ending with the
widest.
Installation view, The Rediscovery of
the World, Huis Marseille, 2013