Marwan Magroun

FOTODOK x BredaPhoto

With Grounding – Stories of Migration, FOTODOK ✕ BredaPhoto Festival present works by seven artists that tell stories of first generation migration – those who came to the Netherlands by choice or by circumstance. These works reflect processes of diasporic homemaking and identity formation: both ever-evolving pursuits for the uprooted. Split into parts, or caught between past and present, the urge to define a new sense of home – and a new sense of self – becomes stronger than ever.

Participating artists: Giya Makondo-Wills, Hanna Hrabarska, Kevin Osepa, Marwan Magroun, Nael Quraishi, Sebastian Koudijzer & Tyler Koudijzer, Thana Faroq

Curated by Daria Tuminas

“For children with a bicultural background, those from our parents’ generation hardly ever feel together in images. When photographed, the intimacy of a fully-fledged relationship between a man and a woman is hardly visible, despite the fact that they also know intimacy. Looking at my own parents, I recognise that when they came to the Netherlands, they were also concerned with surviving.”

First commissioned by One World magazine, Marwan Magroun’s Intimacy creates tender depictions of couples from his parents’ generation. The gestures with which they demonstrate their connection are filled with love and warmth. In fluid, mutual movements, the images radiate a deep sense of togetherness, expressed in pairs of images rather than in single photographs.