Deelstra: ‘Together with a friend and without permission, on a frigid winter night in 2022, I installed wildlife cameras in the Dutch national park the Hoge Veluwe. Trees, game trails, and a small lake provided the backdrop. Badgers, foxes, wild boars, or perhaps even a wolf were our targets.

This wasn’t my first wildlife quest. Together with friends, I’ve spotted wild animals all a- around the world, including in the Netherlands. But I had never used a motion-sensor camera before. My expectations were high. Yet, what I discovered was beyond anything I could have anticipated.

A half-naked man, wandering in front of the camera. Far off the beaten path. Through the woods, past the bushes. Without a shirt, despite sub-zero temperatures. His body was covered only by a pair of jeans. These were the images we encountered and first watched in the pitch-black forest - while we sat on that exact same spot.

Who was this guy? Clearly, this man wasn’t just an ordinary hiker. He also looked fit.
A deep shiver turned the tranquil, nocturnal

forest into eerie shadows. The beam of our flashlight suddenly cast an otherworldly light on the tree trunks.

Now I suddenly feel like I’m in an Ari Aster film. The trees slowly bow in the wind, ac- accompanied by ominous creaking sounds. I’ve been afraid of the dark all my life, even now in my thirties. We hurry back to the car and exchange relieved glances.

This adventure and the photos taken that night served as the visual inspiration for Mysterious Vice. Thematically, it focuses on the eccentric figure, alone in the night. Who was this individual? Is he a criminal? A victim? Perhaps a man with obscure hobbies or someone cast out from society?

This inexplicable wanderer resonates with me. It confronts me with thoughts about my own exiled version. The one who ‘is not supposed to be,’ also roams within me.’