On 2 August, Foam brings together the shared theme of two exhibitions in Gender Bender, an event to mark the occasion of Pride Amsterdam.

ATTENTION: this event is sold out
Drawing on Structures of Identity - Photography from the Walther Collection and the exhibition Y&rsquo;all better Quiet Down by JeanPaul Paula &amp; Florian Joahn, Gender Bender explores the visual idiom regarding gender identities, with reference to the portraits concurrently on display in the museum. Also, the role that the concept of gender plays in contemporary society will be addressed. The programme features the following speakers: PROGRAMME AND SPEAKERS:
<ul>
<li>Foam curator Kim Knoppers will discuss the visual idiom regarding gender and identities in the exhibition Structures of Identity, in relationship to contemporary mass media. How are norms endorsed and criticised? How can photographic representations reinforce, undermine or unsettle social stereotypes?</li>
<li>Artist duo JeanPaul Paula and Florian Joahn will give an Artist Talk that sheds more light on how the images in the exhibition were created.</li>
<li>Independent scholar Tjalling Vald&eacute;s Olmos will offer an analysis of the (audio-) visual art by Reina Gossett/ Tourmaline (a young queer and transactivist), and the specific political role that she plays in contemporary society where the lives, stories and histories of queers and trans-individuals of colour often go unseen and/or remain unheard.</li>
</ul>
<a href="/book-a-visit/public/gender-bender/02-08-2018">&gt; Sign up now</a>
ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS <a href="/museum/programme/structures-of-identity">Structures of Identity - Photography from The Walther Collection</a> examines how photographers from different periods and cultures used the power of the portrait to either confirm or critically examine stereotypical ideas on status, race, nationality and gender. Part of the exhibition explicitly explores gender identity and shows how photography can contribute to expanding gender identities and to questioning sexual conventions. It demonstrates how photography can help to make representations of gender and sexuality more fluid.
<a href="/museum/programme/structures-of-identity">&gt; Learn more</a> The exhibition <a href="/museum/programme/jeanpaul-paula-florian-joahn">Y&rsquo;all Better Quiet Down</a> is entirely devoted to gender identity. For this exhibition, Paula and Joahn portrayed (among others) various individuals from the LGBTQ community of S&atilde;o Paulo, whom they styled and then photographed. Each of the models represents their identity in a unique and powerful way, against the background of a country that celebrates the world&rsquo;s largest Pride festival, but also where the largest number of LGHBTQ individuals is violently killed every year. Besides the portraits of the people in Brazil, the artist duo also made portraits inspired by key figures from the worldwide Pride movement.
<a href="/museum/programme/jeanpaul-paula-florian-joahn">&gt; Learn more</a>
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Gemeente Amsterdam, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.

<div class="sidebar__content">EVENT INFO 
Thursday 2 August 2018 6.30pm - 9pm doors open at 6pm &gt;&gt; FULL &lt;&lt; PRICE &euro;7,00* regular rate &euro;5,00&nbsp;<a href="/about/memberships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Foam Fan</a>/<a href="/about/memberships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Club</a>/<a href="/about/foam-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fund</a> 
LANGUAGE English *excluding&nbsp;<a href="/museum/visitor-information">museum admission</a></div>

Gender Bender

Ricardo Nagaoka presents a series of intimate portraits that addresses the prevailing societal ideas on what makes a man a man. Born in Paraguay to Japanese parents, Ricardo found himself stuck between the macho culture of Latin America and the strict patriarchal norms of his family.  

The photographs, all black and white, vary in crop and position: sometimes up close, cutting off certain body parts and revealing others, whilst others zoom out and show the portrayed head to toe. All images carry a quiet, timeless atmosphere, yet they express a distinct softness. Together, they call for a more inclusive understanding of gender, away from masculine stereotypes—largely based on Ricardo Nagaoka’s own experiences and desires. 

Nagaoka’s projects are not only about breaking down the ruling ideas on masculinity, but more so about building up what this term can include in the future.  

Kitchen, 2022

Aprétame (Justin), 2022

Wrestlers (Self), 2022

Daniel, 2022

Touching (Self), 2022

Brit II, 2023

El Mundo (Rose), 2023

Breaking (John & Timme), 2021

Ivan, 2022

John, 2022

Ricardo Nagaoka

Credo, from the series MADRE

challenges the binary opposition between the ‘good girl’ and the ‘bad girl’ deeply rooted in the Catholic traditions within Bolivian society. Closely collaborating with the sitters of her portraits, Marisol Mendez counters the simplified, sinner-versus-saint, vision on femininity. 

‘Madre’ in this case signifies much more than just a mother figure. It connects to the complex and multi-layered female goddesses traditionally worshipped in indigenous cultures and points to the rich, complex and varied experiences of 

Mendez deliberately uses the alternative spelling to, also linguistically, rid herself from limiting definitions of femininity. 

The portraits play with traditional symbolism associated with the stereotypical female: fragile, devout and proper stand next to rebellious and sexual. By doing so, the photographs show the contradiction experienced by many womxn between rebelling against and adopting these expected gender roles. 

Llorona, from the series Madre

Durazno, from the series Madre

Killa, from the series Madre

El marido sin cabeza, from the series MADRE

Huevo, from the series Madre

Our Lady of Plaster, from the series Madre

Pliegues, from the series Madre

Efigie, from the series Madre

Dolorosa, from the series Madre

Pared, from the series Madre

Estampita, from the series Madre

Quinceañera, from the series Madre

Virgen Andina, from the series MADRE

Soft, from the series Madre

Dual, from the series Madre

Marisol Mendez

Created by Ilona Szwarc in 2015. The artwork is an inkjet print on Hahnemuhle gloss baryta warmtone inkjet paper and displayed at 90 x 115 cm.

Untitled from the series Bible, 2008-2014

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.

In 2021 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and Kickstart Cultuurfonds

visible in

How well do you know yourself and do you express your identity? Inspired by the make-up tutorials from the theatre world, Ilona Szwarc models her own face on the back of another person’s head, who is also her lookalike. As a result, this photograph hovers halfway between a portrait and a self-portrait, and it remains unclear exactly who is who. Ilona Szwarc likes to play with the idea of identity and how we present ourselves to the outside world, but also with how women tend to be depicted and how gender is a social construct. She stresses how much we are often strangers to ourselves. The result is an absurdist image that may call to mind some scene from a scary movie.  

Untitled #21, 2015 from the series I am a woman and I cast no shadow, 2015

Untitled #21 from the series I am a woman and I cast no shadow

 between 2008 - 2014. Using inkjet print on semi-glossy paper as the medium, the artwork is displayed at 190 x 150 cm.

more from the series

 expresses the complexity of the lives of her friends and lovers struggling with issues of gender identity, several of whom have already undergone gender reassignment surgery. Okabe juxtaposes images of underground Tokyo nightlife and the emotional quakes of her and her friends with the destruction wrought by the heavy earthquake and the subsequent tsunami in 2011. Both Okabe’s loved ones and their surroundings are connected in their struggle to overcome the long and difficult struggle out of their traumatic past, in order to (re)construct an identity for themselves.

Untitled from the series Bible 3

Untitled from the series Bible 2

Untitled from the series Bible 1

A self-portrait of an algorithm no.89, 2023

Vistas #22, 2020

Untitled, from the series In Their Own Image of God, They Created Them

Variations of an Erosion op. 1, 2023

The ability for machines to 'see' and 'create' has improved tremendously over the past decades, meaning that computers have been trained, by humans, to recognise and generate images that come shockingly close to a photorealistic image.

From Innovation to Art: The History of AI Images in Foam Magazine #66: Missing Mirror

Ctrl.Alt.Img

It has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between a human-made photograph and an image created with AI, which threatens to shatter the foundation of photography: its claim to truth.

The Zizi Project (2019 – ongoing)

The Zizi Show (202)

The Zizi Show (2020)

The Zizi Project (2019 – ongoing) — Jake Elwes

Spread from Morehshin Allahyari's portfolio in Foam Magazine #66

Moon-faced ماه طلعت, Video (color, sound) 2048 × 3712 pixels 2 minutes 5 seconds

Moon-faced ماه طلعت,

ماه طلعت Moon-faced — Morehshin Allahyari

Behind the Scenes: Resurrect by Paolo Cirio

Mugshots.com, N2, from the series Obscurity, 2016

Visit the museum

Photography Through the Lens of AI

From the series Inner Journey

Foam produced a series of podcasts on the occasion of Foam Talent 2022. In this first episode, host and curator of this year's Foam Talent exhibition Mirelva Berghout speaks with Foam Talent Marvel Harris and special guest Hélène Selam Kleih.

Podcast

The Feast Inside, from the series Paintings Dreams and Love

Talent Talks 2022 with Marvel Harris & Hélène Selam Kleih

For more information and visual material, login to access the press kit of this exhibition.




Note to editors

more at Foam

Foam Talent 2024

Foam Talent 2024-2025

Together, Foam and Paris Photo present a brand-new season of the podcast series Foam Talks: Talent Edition. This series presents eight talented image-makers from both the fair's Curiosa Sector and Foam Talent 2021. Each of the episodes welcomes two photographers, one of each organisations' talent programme. Brought together by a common theme and approach, the photographers speak about their projects and motivations, as well as the challenges they encounter.

from the series Rasmi

Image from the series Being Part European, riso print, 42 x 58,4 cm

Foam and Paris Photo present a brand-new series of Foam Talks, this time featured around the latest issue of Foam Magazine M/OTHERLANDS. The topic or guiding question will be the political power of images. How do they shape not only our understanding but also our opinion of the world? 

Each of the episodes welcomes a guest speaker that will be in conversation with Elisa Medde, Editor in Chief of Foam Magazine. Paris Photo will be running from the 10th until the 13th of November. The latest Foam Magazine called M/OTHERLANDS: The Transnational Issue can be found in the book section.

Foam Talks x Paris Photo - Sarker Protick & AnaMary Bilbao

Image from the series abzgram

discover more

Paris Photo x Foam Talks: On the Politics of Images

Kinder Limo, from the series To Know Us Better

Foam celebrates Amsterdam Pride 2022 by promoting a discussion around Queer history and delving deep on its local archives.

Laslo, from the series To Know Us Better

For the Record with Anton Shebetko, Karol Radziszewski & Jim van Geel

The red bags are used for the seeds, 2021

On the occassion of Earth Day, Foam curator  Amelie Schüle speaks with artists Ana Núñez Rodríguez and Isadora Romero, whose work both trace personal and global stories around one specific vegetable: the potato.

Underground Beauty, 2021

Earth Day with Ana Núñez Rodríguez and Isadora Romero

What meaning do we assign to images on the internet? And to what extent do we identify with them? In collaboration with online platform 

, Foam presents an online mapping game to explore this: 

Foam

Do we share similar interpretations of images, or do we associate completely different meanings with them?

Metaphormaxxing: A Mapping Game

How does a new generation of image-makers from Turkey use photography to reflect on the world around them? 

As part of the multi-year project Kısmet, this online group exhibition gives a snapshot of the emerging community of contemporary image-makers from Turkey. Kısmet is inspired by longstanding cultural, diplomatic and economic ties between Turkey and the Netherlands and delves into the diverse and intricate facets of Turkish visual culture, as seen through the lens of different generations of image-makers. Here, we present the work of four talented visual artists, born after 1990, whose voices will shape the vast visual landscape in Turkey, and beyond, in the upcoming years. 

Showing a diverse range of visual styles, what connects these four artists is the profound personal investment they put in their work. Their photography holds a personal dimension that goes beyond ‘merely’ having an affinity for the chosen subject matter. Rather, their practice and the resulting bodies of work reveal a deep connection to their perception of the world around them. What stands out are the distinct translations of their inner worlds, whether this is in the methodology, subject matter or aesthetics. 

For Oğulcan Arslan, the personal comes forward not only through the story he documents, but also through photographic techniques he uses. In 

, he intimately captures a friendship by adjusting light, exposure and composition to the emotions he experiences himself or from his friend. 

Alp Peker finds solace in their photographic practice to voice their protest against unspoken issues and social taboos they experience on a daily basis. Their photographs, shown here under the title 

, are an ode to the community Alp lives in, their goals, struggles, and weirdnesses.  

Kıvılcım S. Güngörün defines her work as autobiographical fiction. The collages in 

are a direct translation of her inner workings: intuitive visual responses to questions that pop into her mind, or new questions that arise during the process.  

, Cansu Yıldıran studies the power dynamics and gender inequality that they encountered in their ancestral village in Northern Turkey. Inspired by the personal stories of the women of their family, Cansu creates emotional atmospheres that investigate their own sense of identity, of belonging and the continuous search for a safe space.

Kismet: online exhibition intro

How to

Oğulcan Arslan 

From the series All the Rivers Flow In the Nuthouse

               

Alp Peker

Untitled

From the series Amel Defteri: a notebook of deeds

From the series Amel defteri: A Notebook of Deeds

             

Kıvılcım S. Güngörün 

From the series I lab yu

From the series I Lab Yu

“My day becomes my laboratory, and I lab back.” 

                          

Cansu Yıldıran 

From the series The Dispossessed

      

Image from the series After Anahit, 2023

The Golden Horn, Istanbul

Dad and his Indian Friends, April 2017

Kısmet: New Perspectives. Four Contemporary Image-makers from Turkey

For more information and visual material please contact the Press Office of Foam via pressoffice@foam.org.

Foam Talent 2022 Frankfurt

Image from the series Monuments

Unprecedented times have challenged us and the rapid shifts in nature are causing urgency amongst global conversations. How can our past help guide us into the future? 

On Earth⁠ - Matthew Brandt

Making a Lakes and Reservoirs print with Matthew Brandt

Ana Mendieta, Imágen de Yágul (Image from Yagul), 1973, Color photograph, 19 x 12 1/2 inches

Article: Nature's Limbo by Kim Knoppers

Podcast: Re-looking at our Natural Environment with Douglas Mandry

Monuments / Altesch #08, 2018

Nature's Limbo

Foam proudly presents the work of a new generation of artists in the group exhibition 

. The 20 participating photographers address the pressing problems of our times. Together, they explore and extend the boundaries of what photography is today.   

As a diverse group of artists, each of them presents their own visual language. Through their works, they critically look at the world around us. They use the photographic medium to question collective affairs and ongoing issues happening in the world. At the same time, they explore how these issues have an impact on a personal level, moving between a local, historical, symbolic, emotional and bodily perspective. 

This group of artists uses a wide range of photographic genres to tell their stories. With portraiture and documentary photography, digital created images and archival material, the talents create a space for the viewer to sit with situations and current events, to reflect and respond to.   

Complementing the physical experience at Foam, this digital exhibition offers a deeper look at the Talents and their works. What goes on behind the surface? What is the inspiration? What techniques are used? This exhibition combines artistic context with educational perspectives. Read, see, and hear more about the themes and topics and explore, engage, and interact with the works! 

 are: Marwan Bassiouni, Myriam Boulos, Olgaç Bozalp, Laura Chen, Kata Geibl, Lina Geoushy, Marvel Harris, Alexandra Rose Howland, Ange-Frédéric Koffi, Czar Kristoff, Yushi Li, Carla Liesching, Seif Kousmate, Pavo Marinović, Diego Moreno, Donja Nasseri, Ghazaleh Rezaei, Linn Phyllis Seeger, Ritsch Sisters, Donavon Smallwood.

Talent issue of Foam Magazine are supported by the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

The exhibition is made possible by Kleurgamma Fine-Art Photolab and Oschatz Visuelle Medien.

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the Gemeente Amsterdam. 

In 2022 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and receives a contribution through the Mondriaan Fund from the Ministerie van OCW.

Graphic Foam Talent 2022

How to...

Czar Kristoff

Audio fragment for To Destroy Is To Build

from the series To Destroy is To Build

The momentary monument 'To Destroy Is To Build' is not only a web-to-print project but web-to-print-to-monument-to-publication-to... It leaks and flows like new media, like the flood, like the architecture of future society.

from the series To Destroy Is To Build

Myriam Boulos

Audio fragment for Tell the Trees to Smile by Myriam Boulos

Tell the Trees to Smile

from the series Tell the Trees to Smile

I remember Andrea's tears while we were walking towards his destroyed house that he was seeing for the first time since the explosion.

“All the war memories rushed back...
We
rushed to the corridors to hide which was exactly our moves and practice during the Lebanese civil war when the bombing would start.”

Zeina
worked on a rescue mission with a Chile team for 3 days.
The Chile team thought that someone was stuck under the ruins of a building.
“During these
3 days, the hope of finding someone was controlling us.”

Michel lost
his hearing aid during the explosion.
When he wants to listen to music, he puts the radio against his ear.

On August 4, Walid was at home with me. He was on this same balcony when the explosion happened. (...) (I cried in his room and in his arms every day for a few months after the explosion.)

When I gave her this tiny flower, my grandmother told me “Dis aux arbres de sourire”, which means tell the trees to smile.

search

gender

Gender Bender

Ricardo Nagaoka

Marisol Mendez

Untitled #21

Untitled from the series Bible

Untitled from the series Bible

Untitled from the series Bible

Photography Through the Lens of AI

Talent Talks 2022 with Marvel Harris & Hélène Selam Kleih

Foam Talent 2024

Foam Talent 2024-2025

Paris Photo x Foam Talks: On the Politics of Images

For the Record with Anton Shebetko, Karol Radziszewski & Jim van Geel

Earth Day with Ana Núñez Rodríguez and Isadora Romero

Metaphormaxxing:
A Mapping Game

Kısmet: New Perspectives. Four Contemporary Image-makers from Turkey

Foam Talent 2022 Frankfurt

Nature's Limbo

How can our past help guide us into the future?

Talent Digital 2022

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Playing, protesting and photographing at the same time:
A Closer Look at the Work of Alp Peker

Women of Karadeniz are strong
A Closer Look at the Work of Cansu Yıldıran

An interview with Seahorse Parents

Paris Photo x Foam Talks: Talent Edition

gender

Gender Bender

Ricardo Nagaoka

Marisol Mendez

Untitled #21

Untitled from the series Bible

Untitled from the series Bible

Untitled from the series Bible

Photography Through the Lens of AI

Talent Talks 2022 with Marvel Harris & Hélène Selam Kleih

Foam Talent 2024

Foam Talent 2024-2025

Paris Photo x Foam Talks: On the Politics of Images

For the Record with Anton Shebetko, Karol Radziszewski & Jim van Geel

Earth Day with Ana Núñez Rodríguez and Isadora Romero

Metaphormaxxing:A Mapping Game

Kısmet: New Perspectives. Four Contemporary Image-makers from Turkey

Foam Talent 2022 Frankfurt

Nature's Limbo

How can our past help guide us into the future?

Talent Digital 2022

On Transience – Theme Text Foam Magazine #64: EXTREMES–The Environmental Issue

Playing, protesting and photographing at the same time: A Closer Look at the Work of Alp Peker

Women of Karadeniz are strongA Closer Look at the Work of Cansu Yıldıran

An interview with Seahorse Parents

Paris Photo x Foam Talks: Talent Edition

Metaphormaxxing:
A Mapping Game

Playing, protesting and photographing at the same time:
A Closer Look at the Work of Alp Peker

Women of Karadeniz are strong
A Closer Look at the Work of Cansu Yıldıran