My best friend has suffered from acne since she was a teenager. This really hinders her in her self-image, her identity and criticism of others, about something she cannot do anything about. I find the structure of the skin very interesting, as well as how other people react to it. An ideal image must be met.
The photos show that you prefer to hide, behind your skin for example, so that people don't see that it is you. Or just to show that it's you, it's just the acne that's on your skin. You can see uncertainty in the photos. It's hard to know who you are, what defines you. Especially if other people think your acne defines you.
This topic is difficult and fraught. More attention should be paid to the effects of acne on a person. It destroys you inside. I will never fully feel what Kim is going through or feeling, because I have not been able to feel that way. When I try to put myself in her place, I mainly feel a lot of fear, uncertainty and maybe also some shame. I try to get more into the role of Kim in this photo series.
I also decided to screen print a photo on paper. This to see what the effect is and how I could put more emphasis on the acne and the skin itself. I think it should be shown.
Portrait of Kim, 2020
Portrait of Kim, 2020
Romantisicing having acne, 2021
Screenprint, black ink, 2021
Screen print, red ink, 2021
Screen print, red ink, 2021
Screen print, black paper, 2021
Screen print, black paper, 2021
After that I made another photo series. This time after the recovery as Kim would call it. A photo series about the proverb hear, see, feel. This series is about the image of Kim and how she is approached. Even now that her skin is 'fixed' after a heavy medication period, the mental scars from the acne are a very big part of Kim’s life. Her insecurity about her skin has remained. I tried to capture this in a three-part series of analog photos.
Portrait, Analog, 2022
Portrait, Analog, 2022
