We admire your authenticity
Transparent photo in light-boxes. 100 x 130 cm. 1996
This work is the result of my encounter with street children in Bolivia in 1994. During my stay there, I was confronted with my privilege as a European back-packer and I began to think about the insurmountable gap between my reality and theirs. I was also confronted with my stereotypical attitudes towards the locals I met. My purpose with this work was to show how such attitudes become a barrier between the viewer and the others. Although the work contained a self-criticism, an opportunity for the gaze to be turned towards the viewer, and the children were photographed at the parents' request, I experience today that the work has problematic aspects. Nevertheless, this work became decisive for how I later came to approach stereotypes and racism in my work.
