Biography
Self-portrait with her Afghan hounds Bashir and Tiziano.
Sabrina van den Heuvel (1986, The Netherlands) is a photographer and multidisciplinary artist. In dialogue with art, literature, and philosophy, she works with photography, drawing, narrative structures, and cinematic forms of image-making. Her work explores human vulnerability, identity, desire, and transformation through black-and-white photography, sculptural approaches to light, and a visually and emotionally resonant language.
Sabrina graduated from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague. In 2017 she was appointed Artist in Residence at the Interuniversity Institute for Art History in Florence under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Michael Kwakkelstein. There she conducted research into Renaissance anatomical studies and drawing practices, exploring the relationship between body, history, and image. This period led to the photographic series Corpus Dei, developed across Florence, Rome, and the archaeological site of Tivoli, in dialogue with the works of Caravaggio and Michelangelo. The series was presented in Florence and exhibited internationally, and received press attention in multiple publications.
The Corpus Dei series resulted in a bibliophile photobook published by Lecturis, featuring texts by Michael W. Kwakkelstein and Sarah de Clercq. It was launched at Sotheby’s in Amsterdam, presented during Amsterdam Art Week, and later exhibited at the Ikonenmuseum, where it entered into dialogue with historical icons.
Her work has received recognition from Fotomuseum Den Haag, where she was awarded an Honourable Mention in the museum’s photography prize. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including New York, Florence, Amsterdam, and other international venues.
Van den Heuvel develops long-term photographic constellations that revolve around identity, transformation, and the performative dimensions of contemporary culture. Among these is Rahim Redcar: A Portrait in Motion, an ongoing photographic exploration of a singular figure in contemporary music. The work follows Redcar through shifting states of presence and reinvention, where identity is approached as fluid, fragile, and in continuous becoming. The first portraits from this body of work are presented online, marking the beginning of an evolving constellation.
Recent portrait commissions include the Italian musician and composer Giancarlo Prandelli, whose work operates within the musical orbit of artists such as Laura Pausini, extending her practice into music, performance, and contemporary cultural portraiture.
Sabrina is currently developing Contritio Cordis (Latin for “the crushing of the heart”), her first immersive installation, in collaboration with specialists across different fields. The work emerges from a research-based photographic practice, informed by existential philosophy, developed in Volterra, within the former psychiatric hospital (Manicomio di Volterra) and its surrounding landscape in Italy.