digital noise through analog eyes, 2024

The title digital noise through analog eyes, provides a clue to a method applied throughout most of De Haan's work. Noise in this context is a random variation of brightness or colour information in digital images. It can be produced by the sensor and circuitry of a scanner or digital camera and is the digital equivalent of film grain for analog cameras and feedback or static for audio equipment. Digital noise appears as random flaws or glitches that can significantly degrade image quality.

Although therefore usually regarded as an undesirable byproduct of image capture that adds spurious and extraneous information, for De Haan it is just another valuable visual element to be exploited. He elevates noise to a position of aesthetic significance, enhancing the processes that lead to it and allowing the noise to become an essential medium in the production of his images. - Derek Horton