Introducing Ahmet Polat. At the beginning of September of this year, a new ‘photographer laureate’ will be appointed, which means that after a year and a half I will pass on the baton. I now look back proudly on the work I have been able to do concerning the Netherlands, like ‘Look, my street!’ and ‘A new future’, my latest exhibition on refugees.
On the news, it seems as if society is going from bad to worse, but that is a very one-sided view of our environment. As soon as you get started on the street itself, it is a whole different story and that is what I always try to convey in my work.
With this in mind, I approached photographers, image makers and thinkers who both physically and mentally are building new bridges between (mental) worlds around us. People like Andrea Stultiens, who for years now has been making work between the Netherlands and Uganda, and Diana Blok, who defines sexual orientation and identity in a very individual way.
Fortunately, the world is not equivocal and one-sided and even if it sometimes seems a bit too hard, there is already a new generation of creators ready to take over the baton from us, like Hillie de Rooij, Lana Mesić and Annejet Brandsma.
I hope that you all, just like me, will be inspired by what these people show us (and make us understand).
More Ahmet Polat > 24.08.2015 / 16.07.2016
