Gemengd - Mixed

In Gemengd (Mixed), I reflect on the painful and confusing effects that having a mixed heritage can have.

In Gemengd (Mixed), I reflect on the painful and confusing effects that having a mixed heritage can have. Painful and confusing because one part of your heritage is privileged while another is not. Painful and confusing because one part of your heritage was acknowledged by your ancestors, while another was silenced. Painful and confusing because society often seeks a simplified explanation for something inherently complex.

My mother is from Curaçao and my father is from the Netherlands. My mother herself is also of mixed descent: her paternal line includes Indigenous South American ancestry, while her maternal line consists of both a ‘white’ and a ‘black’ side. The ‘white’ side of my mother’s family was fully acknowledged, while the ‘black’ side received little attention.

In this exploration of identity, cultural layeredness, and the role physical appearance can play within it, I create images in which I invite people of mixed heritage—often family members—to interact with elements from Curaçao and the Netherlands, translating confusion and pain into visual form. These contemporary images enter into dialogue with historical photographs from Curaçao, resulting in a complex and layered body of work. I use images spanning generations, from my great-great-grandmother to my mother, as well as my great-grandfather.