From Form are the creative duo with a love of analogue methods and imperfect results

Founded by husband and wife duo Ashley Govers and Jurjen Versteeg, From Form is a studio that endeavours to “build worlds that play with both the real and the imaginative”.

Date
9 February 2023

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For a studio, From Form is probably about as hands-on as it gets. From their Rotterdam workshop, Ashley and Jurjen can often be found hand building and painting the objects and visual features of their films and designs, fuelled by their passion for “the analogue and the imperfect”. This crafty approach comes across brilliantly in their campaign for Amsterdam Museum Night, in which they hand photographed and fashioned a segmented flip book which, when filmed, creates a truly striking effect. Featuring a vibrant palette of colours, from cobalt blue, burnt orange and a bright red binder, the project also stands in line with the studio’s attention to “carefully arranged colours and compositions”.

Building such a distinct approach and visual style, Ashley and Jurjen tell us that it comes from a shared fascination with artists who have “a confident visual language”. This includes the french new wave films of Agnès Varda, the surreal paintings of René Magritte, and the fellow husband and wife couples Ray and Charles Eames, and Elaine and Saul Bass. Recently, From Form saw its 10th anniversary, celebrating with a slick new website. And, looking to the future, Ashley and Jurjen are working on a personal short documentary entitled Two Deserts, that “combines our love for nature, design and film”.

From Form: Campaign videos for Amsterdam Museum Night (Copyright © From Form, 2022)

From Form: Snippet from The Call for Hyundai (Copyright © From Form, 2021)

From Form: Snippet from Skoda Shot at Home (Copyright © From Form, 2020)

From Form: New Website (Copyright © From Form, 2023)

From Form: Still from short documentary Two Deserts (Copyright © From Form, 2023)

From Form: The Ace & Tate Guide To Using Contacts for Ace & Tate (Copyright © From Form, 2021)

From Form: The Immeasurable Impact of Film for Cineville (Copyright © From Form, 2018)

From Form: Look. Touch. Feel for Dutch Cancer Society (Copyright © From Form, 2023)

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From Form: Portrait for Amsterdam Museum Night (Copyright © From Form, 2022)

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About the Author

Olivia Hingley

Olivia (she/her) joined the It’s Nice That team as an editorial assistant in November 2021 and soon became staff writer. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a degree in English literature and history, she’s particularly interested in photography, publications and type design.

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