Gertjan van Mook is a Dutch conceptual artist. He Graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam - With Honors (1991). He gained fame with his brand concept The Man With The Pan®.

His photographs and Short films were seen in many relevant museums all over the world and worldwide film festivals. As a photographer/director he worked for international brands like Nike, KLM, Heineken, Greenpeace and many others.

Mook is not an artist whom’s work can be categorized under one single heading. Trained as a photographer Mook’s CV is full of flavor: drawings and pics of mussels, flicks of exploding veggies, a short film of a floating pan on an infinite ocean and last but not least his contemporary still life photography.

Mook places this Dutch tradition in a contemporary context. Still life as a genre has always been about prosperity and disaster. The first still life saw the light of day at the beginning of the Golden age (17th century) during the reign of the V.O.C., the first multinational in the world (Dutch spice trade).

Now 300 years later, corporations still dominate global trade and Mook uses this genre once again to interpret, criticize and reflect on our current social and economical situation.

Conceptually Mook went further en searched beyond the limitations of art. He developed his own Herbs and Spice brand The Man With The Pan®. Using his photographic skills and developed a unique marketing style to promote his quirky and critical Brand. He traveled extensively through the former Dutch colonies to find out that very little had changed. As a one man army he took on a giant Dutch corporation called Unilever and showed them, that vision, creativity and honest products can be a powerful weapon as well.

MOOK - Founder TMWTP.

“Food is too important to leave in the greedy hands of hedge funds, shareholders and corporations for no other purpose than to make as much money as possible by replacing Real Flavor with Synthetic Crap.”

With Mook I present a contemporary and a one of a kind artist who goes his own way. He ventured into worlds that were not his own and found new ways to communicate and make a change.

Mook did not hop from exposition to exposition. As a successful Dutch artist he took a detour. His concepts had to be anchored in society as a whole. His works had to be out there and make a difference. The artist became a warrior! Een artistic activist!

Mook dared to move his ‘concepts’ into the ‘real world’ and took the long way home. His concepts and photographs are the silent witnesses of his extraordinary vision.

Mook is a traveling Photographer.

— Karin Toepfer