'Rijnwijk My District'

'Rijnwijk’ is a characteristic 100-year-old neighborhood in the city of Arnhem, a medium-sized Dutch town. Most of the current residents have no job and some of the houses are being squatted. The district has been long known as a ‘NO GO-area’. It has been a thorn in the side of the local government for years. It is situated at a really beautiful location along the river Rhine. Which is why it has to make room for new apartments and offices. But thirteen families just won’t leave… For a year I have been immersed in Rijnwijk. A strong non-conformist culture, reminiscent of Oliver Twist or Peaky Blinders-like stories. It is in the district next to where I live and I heard the strangest stories. I was curious and started to document the people and the place before it has been vanished. I started loving these people and wanted to give them a present by making a proper document on their lives and neighborhood. The photobook also places the Dutch society in a different light as it is mainly characterised by order and cleanliness as well as the urge to conform to social standards. But what if you can't get along with that? It is an issue that I have been struggling myself with for years. For many reasons it feels like I cannot cope with modern society. Therefore I developed a special interest in the other side of succes, capitalism, or lets say: Western society. The Rijnwijk series has recently been shown during the Voies Off photofestival, Rencontres d’Arles 2019 and . The Rijnwijk book will be launched at the UNSEEN photo festival on september 20th in Amsterdam.