Be Equal Be Different

1
Be Equal Be Different

• Images of diversity

2
Woman, 1996

• Nina Labbart, Finland
• "My photo is about the right of an old woman to
  have wrinkles. It's about her right to age with
  dignity and without giving up her sexuality. I
  wanted to stir up this discussion because I
  believe that in our society we are fixated on
  appearance and have forgotten the wisdom of the
  old. It's also a way to approach my own ageing,
  to discover what's considered ugly and make it
  beautiful. Does life with all its passions cease
  at thirty-five?
• Nina works and lives in Stockholm, Sweden, but
  was born in Finland. She has exhibited on several
  occasions in both countries.

3
Love is love, 1994

• Tiziano Bedin, Italy
• "I have published in many gay magazines in Europe
  and also in a book about young Italian men,
  called Latin Lovers. More than on technique, my
  photographs concentrate on revealing the
  personality of the model, showing both 'body and
  soul'.
• Tiziano Bedin switched to professional
  photography after working as an economist for a
  few years. He then studied at the European Art
  School in Milan, and specialised in advertising
  and industrial photography.

4
The Mongans, 1998

• "During my work I took a lot of photographs,
  because I wanted other people to see what I saw,
  and come closer to seeing Travellers as they are,
  not as they are so ungenerously imagined to be. I
  always hope that my photos in this way will
  contribute to a culture that appreciates
  diversity, while promoting inclusion.

• A Vincentian priest, Dan worked in the Parish of
  the Travelling People in Dublin for the past
  seven years. He did much of the sacramental work
  and worked with Travellers and Traveller
  organizations particularly in the area of
  accommodation and social justice. Dan is now
  studying at Boston University (USA).

Dan O'Connell, Ireland
5
Mien, 77 years, homeless in Rotterdam, 1996

• "Mien spends a lot of her time cleaning up the
  city. Pieces of paper and plastic cups disappear
  in her carrier bag, she even rearranges the
  garbage in garbage cans. Now and then she admits
  she might prefer to live in a little house, with
  her family. However, she feels she will never
  settle down, because the street is in her blood.
  Mien is a kind and special person. I would have
  loved to have had her as my grandma."

Arie Kievit graduated from the Royal Dutch Art
Academy in 1997 and works for prominent Dutch
newspapers (Algemeen Dagblad, De Volkskrant) as
well as for Doctors without Borders and other
organisations. Arie published for photobooks, for
instance about Mien.
Arie Kievit, The Netherlands
6
She so feminine, 1999
Aurora Reinhard, Finland

• "When I first met my girlfriend and started to go
  out to women's bars I became really interested in
  girls who looked like boys. Gradually my interest
  moved to how all kinds of women express their
  identity of femininity and masculinity. What's
  feminine? I wondered. Femininity and masculinity
  are outfits more than personal characteristics.
• Aurora studied photography at the Academy of
  Fine Arts in Helsinki and at Gothenburg
  University. She worked for Me Naiset, a Finnish
  women's magazine and has shown her work in
  Finland as well as in other countries. In her
  recent video-project, 'Angel', Aurora portraits
  young, androgynous lesbians.

7
Joyce, 1999
Sander Smits / Daan de Beer the Netherlands

• "Joyce is a self-made woman. To judge her choice
  would be easy. It fascinated us because this
  choice is irreversible. For her, it's the only
  way to force her own happiness. In our work we
  never search for the truth. We just want to show
  what we find unforgettable."
• Daan and Sander have worked as a duo since 1997.
  They both graduated from HKU (Art Academy) in
  Utrecht in 2000 and exhibited and worked on
  assignment, for instance for the Dutch World
  Broadcast Company.

8
No title, 1997

• "I grew up during the Cold War with the idea that
  communism was terrible. One of the worst things
  was the fact that in communist countries people
  weren't free to travel. The Iron Curtain was a
  barrier until 1990, an absurd situation. But now
  we close our borders. Apparently it's alright to
  prohibit others to travel freely."

Piet den Blanken travels around the world as a
freelance photojournalist. His work has always
been politically engaged, since the eighties when
he was one of the few photojournalists to report
the civil war in El Salvador, until the present
where he travels Europe to photograph the way
refugees are being treated by authorities. This
photograph was taken in the harbour of Brindisi
and shows Albanians as they are guarded prior to
their deportation to Albania.
Piet den Blanken, The Netherlands
9
Lesbian family, 1992

• Marian Bakker studied visual communication at the
  Art Academy (Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunst)
  in Amsterdam. She exhibited her work (both solo
  and in group exhibitions) in Berlin, Paris, New
  York, Brussels and several Dutch cities. Marian
  is also actively involved in the Dutch feminist
  and lesbian movement. She is one of the
  initiators of Lesbian ConneXion/s, an
  international photo-exhibition by lesbian
  photographers about lesbian life in all its
  aspects.

Marian Bakker, The Netherlands
10
European Cup Winners Final, Strassbourg 1988

• "In this final, Ajax met K.V. Mechelen and lost
  (1-0). Player Danny Blind (left) was sent off the
  field in the first period. Just before the match
  Johnny Bosman (right) had signed a contract with
  K.V. Mechelen. When the two saw each other at the
  presentation of the cup, the emotions got the
  better of Bosman."

• Guus Dubbelman studied journalism for three years
  and has been active as a photojournalist for 23
  years, working for major Dutch papers as the
  Volkskrant.

Guus Dubbelman The Netherlands
11
No title, 1994
Arenda Oomen The Netherlands

• "I took this photo in Spangen, a neighbourhood in
  Rotterdam where people from very different
  cultural backgrounds live together. Spangen
  received a lot of negative publicity, especially
  for this area. Instead of showing their problems
  I wanted to show the other side of these people
  living their daily lives."
• Arenda studied at the Royal Art Academy in the
  Hague and works for well known Dutch magazines
  such as De Groene Amsterdammer, Opzij and HP De
  Tijd.

12
God loves me too, 2000

• Sergio Perini, Italy
• "I took this picture during World Gay Pride in
  Rome, which was especially important. Not only
  because the Vatican had used all of its influence
  to prevent it from happening during jubilee year,
  but also because we felt a different atmosphere.
  Gays, lesbians and others were there with more
  determination than ever to claim the right to
  demonstrate and to express the fact that being
  lesbian, gay or transsexual isn't something to be
  ashamed of."
• Sergio has been a photographer for ten years, and
  has mainly been working for the Italian gay press
  (Pride, Babilonia, Noi) as well as for other
  magazines.

13
No title, 1999

• "The shaved head is a very important motif for
  me. It represents the feeling of exposure and
  vulnerability for being queer in this society. My
  photographs deal generally with the theme of
  'coming out'. This is more than the single act of
  telling your friends and family. For me it also
  means the years inside of your own head coming to
  terms with something society does not accept. It
  is a constant battle against self-doubt, disgust
  (instilled at a young age in heterosexual
  society) and trying to re-establish oneself as
  someone different."

A graduate in Ancient History and History of Art
and Architecture from Trinity College in Dublin,
Abi is an art photographer and an archaeologist.
During her studies she spent several years as a
committee member for the Lesbian and Gay Bisexual
Society, and as the Students Union LBG (lesbian,
gay, bisexual) Rights Officer.
Abi Cryerhall, Ireland
14
Distance, 1982

• "This photo is not only a document about The
  Chilean Refugees, it also represents part of my
  life as a refugee. It's called 'Distance' because
  we are far from home and far from the culture in
  which we live now. I came to Europe in 1973 and I
  think I'm experienced enough to tell about being
  a foreigner. Taking personal pictures is my way
  of expressing myself."

Born in Chile, Vera has been living and working
in Finland for thirty years. From 1976-1982, he
studied at the University of Arts in Helsinki. He
has worked as a freelancer, in Central America
and elsewhere, and for different papers and
magazines. He has also exhibited work in solo and
group exhibitions.
Adolfo Vera, Finland
15
No title, 2000

• "I took this picture at a family gathering. In
  this picture, my grandfather sits alone amongst
  the partying crowd. To me he is a hero. My work
  always deals with relations between people and
  their environment. I shoot in ordinary
  situations. Sometimes the picture shows
  differences as they are bridged, sometimes it
  just shows how these differences remain. I come
  across discrimination as well. It's an aspect of
  how people deal with each other."

• Andrea Stultiens studied photography at HKU (Art
  Academy) in Utrecht. She's currently a
  post-graduate at Art Academy St. Joost in Breda
  and has won several Dutch prizes and stipends.
  Her clients are the city of Amsterdam, Rotterdam.
  

Andrea Stultiens, The Netherlands
16
Wish I was normal, 1997

• "This photo is part of a series, taken as an
  examination of society's habit of labelling and
  quickly dismissing people without any attempt to
  either see them as individuals or explore the
  issues they may be dealing with. It's my belief
  that too many of us are unquestioningly
  conditioned by the opinion of others, be that the
  state or the man in the street, without making
  any effort to examine issues that are perceived
  as 'alien' or 'wrong'.
• Ciaran studied acting in New York. After a short
  acting career he studied commercial photography
  at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art design and
  Technology. Currently he co-ordinates the
  photography courses at Stillorgan College of
  Further Education, meanwhile working on
  photographic projects

Ciaran O'Keeffe, Ireland
17
No title, 1997

• Linette Raven, The Netherlands
• Linette mainly photographs people, working as a
  freelancer and on assignment. Clients include the
  Dutch National Ballet. She also publishes in
  Dutch magazines such as the gay magazine XL.