Biography
Charlie Koolhaas studied sociology in New York and media art at Goldsmiths College in London. She has lived and worked in London, Dubai, Guangzhou, Lagos, Houston and Rotterdam. In each city she stayed long enough to understand what it was actually made of — not the skyline but the tiles, the facades, the corner shops, the surfaces that accumulate time and don't get photographed because they're not spectacular enough. She has been documenting Dubai since 2005. Her book City Lust (2020) brought together twenty years of photographic and written work across five cities — London, Guangzhou, Lagos, Dubai, Houston — exploring the apotheosis of globalisation and the creativity that persists inside it. Domus called her images "clues in a human landscape and a multiculturalism that is more complex and deep-rooted than what the western eye is willing to concede." The photographs became sculptures. The sculptures became garments. Through her Foto-Couture series, she translates images of urban architecture into clothing and printed textiles — making the archive mobile, turning buildings soft, giving memory something to wear. Her work has been shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Vitra Design Museum, Alserkal Avenue and institutions across Europe and Asia. She is based in Rotterdam. She keeps returning to Dubai.