Portrait

BACKGROUND- Diversity and inclusion are great concepts to strive for: every person is equal, with the same rights, the same protection. The practice however is very different. Because diversity cannot only be captured in letters of an alphabet, or colors of the rainbow, anyone who falls outside or is not recognized is simply outlawed. And there is therefore a risk of discrimination and serious forms of persecution and violence , also in the Netherlands. In fact, letters and colors work as a form of hidden systemic exclusion. Queer identity arises in childhood, but lacks the outward manifestations.

In the portrait series Queer identity ( 40 portraits, 2021-2024) in soft pastel on paper, an invisible world is made visible, by using iconic, stereotypical colors and symbols, so that each portrait tells a (hidden) story.