All People

Waters View project

Down by the Water View project

Latifa

Self portrait with Marina Abramovic

Vlisco - Happy Mothers Day

Thank you Mum. This Mother’s Day, we were inspired by the influence that mothers have on their children. How children grow from that influence, and how it builds their character. To celebrate this bond, we invited families from 5 different countries — Togo, Benin, DRC, Ghana and Ivory Coast — to share the lessons they’ve learned, and express the emotional bonds that build who we are.

Do You Love Me?

"Do you love me? You don’t love me.” I SURE DO LOVE YOU, my dearest Randy!
(Inspired by dr. R.D. Laing)

BOTTER for ELLE Magazine

Daily Paper

Sticks

15 iconic portraits of Dutch creativity.

THE NEW STIJL celebrates Dutch creativity beyond borders. More than 50 creatives; designers, artists, photographers, architects and more, brought together in an iconic 500+ page book.
The result — a truly striking visual showcase of creativity in The Netherlands today.
https://www.thenewstijl.com/
Left: Iris van Herpen, right: Sabine Marcelis

Bernie Sanders - Die Zeit Magazine

Reflecting on our turbulent times, Senator Bernie Sanders takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our country’s failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans.

Bibi

The Americans - Levi (35) from Casper, WY

Levi – the zombie I just discovered – presents me his house with pride.

When I think of zombies I usually think of chaos and filthiness, but this one is remarkably organized. The boxes of cereals are neatly placed in a row and sorted by brand, his caps are sealed in plastic, and his bed is orderly made. Bella, his pit bull, sits on a panther blanket upon the couch and is wearing a red leather collar that matches Levi’s outfit.

"Why do you have that tattoo?" I point to the bloody-open-scull tattoo around his mouth. Levi firmly answers: "One: I love zombies. Two: it’s unique." As he is squeezing the words out, his body is twitching constantly and uncontrollably.

Later, it becomes clear that the muscle spasms are caused by the hereditary Huntington's disease. Talking becomes more tiresome, as well as sitting, walking and sleeping. His grandmother also had this disease, and she died a slow death, a fate that also awaits Levi. "I am therefore hoping for an Apocalypse. COVID, but then worse. It could be any kind of disaster." Besides the fact that an Apocalypse will save him from a slow death, "the world can use a reset".

Levi’s brain is slowly dying and if that wasn’t already enough, life has been though on him. After being abused at a young age, having to stop school, the death of his mother and grandmother, and on top of all that a meth addiction, he ends up in prison eventually. During his time in prison, he becomes friends with white supremacists. "You either eat or be eaten". He earns some swastikas on his back in ways he rather not mention. "But I had a high rank". Once he got out, he unlearned his hatred towards black people. The swastikas are covered up with deep black sawblades. "Now I just hate everybody equally." The room becomes silent.

"I have been clean for two years now." I see a little smile. "My grandmother and mom were strippers. I would like to start my own, female-friendly strip club. Nobody judges you there. It is a kind of free counseling, you could say."

Finally, I start to understand why Levi is not terrifying me. Although Levi wishes for the death, I realize that he is telling me the opposite: by slowly dying, he comes closer to life.

Zyana, Salt Lake City, UT

Emily, Twin Falls, ID

Emily (6), Twin Falls, Idaho
Drowned in dark thoughts I wander through a big Walmart in Twin Falls, Idaho. It is the intense gaze of a young girl that brings me back to earth. In times of despair the look of the kid is comforting as well as painful: the ultimate imagination of innocence, which only a child can show. Sitting in a shopping cart, being pushed by her big sister, the world is passing by.
I would love to photograph the girl. I nervously approach them, scared of being rejected. “Is your mom here too?”, I ask. “She in the restroom, but she will be back soon”, the sister says. Meanwhile the bright blue eyes of the little girl are starring right through me. I try to keep the conversation going, without appearing to be a creepy stalker. When the mother joins us, the big sister has already found me on Instagram and wants to take a selfie with me. Mom is keeping an appropriate distance and I see her – understandable – concerns. I give her my phone number and await. Not much later I receive the message I was hoping for: “*You can come over*.”
The name of the girl is Emily. Her intellectual disability sometimes makes things harder, but because of the loving presence of big sister Kenzie (15), brother Lucas (8), mom Ashley (40) and dog Piper she can move quite carelessly through life. In contradiction with a lot of struggling parents, her mom has, with the help of school and doctors, paved a way through the complex American bureaucracy with as a result a happy, healthy kid in school. “Without the help I could not have done it.”
Like a little kitten Emily plays in the grass. Continuously she is approaching me closer and closer, followed by running away or hiding in her pink jacket. Everything is sweet about her. Her light, fine hairs, the bread crumbs on her chin, the small hands which are holding a (still frozen) peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the nearly rolling tear that arises because of the wind and the accompanying booger
An innocent child. Freely she rolls through the grass and I roll with her. I want nothing more than to forget or not know – it works.

KORF for Bijenkorf

KORF, de stijlkrant van de Bijenkorf, vol inspiratie, trends en verhalen. In dit eerste issue, in het Olympische jaar, richten we onze lens op grensverleggers in sport en mode.