year of the woman

Taking 'shooting self portraits' to a new level.

Today, aged 88, Ria van Dijk still makes her pilgrimage to the Shooting Gallery.

In almost every picture #7 tells the story of a Dutch woman whose life is seen from the point of view of a fairground shooting gallery.

The chronological series begins in 1936, when a 16-year-old girl from Tilburg in Holland picks up a rifle and shoots at the target in a shooting gallery.

Today, aged 88, Ria van Dijk still makes her pilgrimage to the Shooting Gallery.

Every time she hits the target, it triggers the shutter of a camera.

The prize? The girl firing the gun gets a copy of the photo.

And so, a life-long love affair with the shooting gallery begins.

This series documents almost every year of the woman’s life (apart from a not-too-difficult-to-understand six-year hiatus between 1939 and 1945) up until present times.

In almost every picture #7 is a biography of one woman’s life from an unusual perspective.

The series enables us to witness the times she lived in, as well as acting as a revealing look at the changing face of photography through the decades.

If you’re interested, you can buy the book here, or take a look at a selection of the photos over on their website!

(via Uggclogs)