We are (not) I - Petra-Puk

What happens to a person if there’s no space, room and no appreciation for the differences. In other words, what happens to you as an individual when the other prefers an exact copy? Parents who encourage their children to be just like them. Or the other way around, when a child believes it has to become just like her/his parent in order to be loved.

Living your life is quite an adventure as it is. The artist thinks it’s a wonderful journey. Standing on your own two feet, discovering who you really are. Creating our own successes and failures along the way. Or as Kierkegaard put it; life is about becoming who you are.

We are I(not) depicts how two people cannot be the same, no matter how much they may look alike. The images are alienating, where the alienation stands for being a stranger to oneself. The underlying message is to be oneself with all the beautiful and rough edges that come with it.

A strange portrait

From a visual point of view, it can be a rather interesting portrait. The strangeness intertwined with the familiarities and rough effects of the peeled polaroid, can be nice to have. If interested, the artist never creates portraits, except these once. Feel free to contact us to make an appointment, if / when you are in the Netherlands.

Grandmother and granddaughter superimposed, peeled polaroids. The polaroids were placed on top of each other and scanned, thus creating one image. — Grandmother and granddaughter superimposed, peeled polaroids

Mother and daughter superimposed, peeled polaroids. The polaroids were placed on top of each other and scanned, thus creating one image.
It visually turns two people into one. But who wants that? We are not I — mother and daughter superimposed, peeled polaroids

Father and son superimposed, peeled polaroids. The polaroids were placed on top of each other and scanned, thus creating one image.
It visually turns two people into one. But who wants that? We are not I — father and son superimposed, peeled polaroids

Polaroid Paradox vs We are (not) I

Quite a different approach when looking at familiarities between family members. Here, there is space between the two individuals, literally. Unlike We are (not) I it is even possible to walk around them. The polaroids can be viewed here.