Eric Gyamfi uses storytelling to position his own past into a more universal experience of belonging. His self-portraits and quasi-diaristic installations about his own nomadic existence are deeply personal, yet transcend his individual experience. The artist employs an array of visual methods to recount memories that hover somewhere between autobiography and fiction. His work consists of collages, writings, sound and prints that were developed using various processes, such as cyanotype and screen-printing.

At the invitation of Foam, Gyamfi translated his scrapbook-aesthetic onto the museum walls. The resulting installations make us reconsider the meaning of a photographic image as a record of the truth or the externalization of personal memory. Instead, the photograph is presented as a powerful but deeply ambiguous tool to recount and reinvent stories – be they true or false.

Visit and revisit the work of Foam Paul Huf Award Winner Eric Gyamfi, other exhibitions and events as a Foam Member.

Eric Gyamfi is the winner of the 13^th Foam Paul Huf Award, which is awarded annually by an international jury to talented photographers under the age of 35.

Eric Gyamfi – Fixing Shadows

13 December 2019 – 11 March 2020

Foam museum

Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
The Netherlands

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Thierry is a self-taught photographer and started employing photography as a means of empowerment after moving to the Netherlands from the Caribbean island of Curaçao as a teenager. Becoming increasingly exposed to racial issues, he sought a way to channel and convey his own awareness to others. Through his work, the artist employs photography to empower, to reveal what is generally invisible, and to voice what is often muted.

The artist describes his series as  “an ode to all people who are still not free to live and express their sexuality”. Thierry believes that every image comes into its own when given the time and attention it deserves. That’s why he tends to prefer traditional methods. Part of their incomparable beauty lie in the manual process of developing and printing, in which the slowing down of time plays a vital role. The issues he addresses in his photos are often as personal as they are social: He’s fascinated by what drives people. As opinions and pictures fly around the world, he captures moments of stillness for reflection.

In 2013 Thierry began documenting the Dutch Ballroom scene, later travelling to Paris, New York, London and Berlin to document the respective local scenes. . This underground phenomenon originated in 19th-century America, where the LGBTQ community gathered for drag masquerade balls where their identity could freely be expressed. Racism experienced by black participants led to the initiation of balls for the black queer community specifically in the 1970s.

The competitors engage in dance-off categories such as ‘voguing’: a highly stylised modern house dance inspired by hieroglyphs and modelling poses. In this day the artist shows that the spirit of resistance, manifested in uncompromised self-expression, remains vibrant and resilient. By creating powerful portraits of various members of Dutch and Parisian houses, he highlights how these houses function to prepare contestants for the Ball, while constituting informal support structures for those facing discrimination or hostility in daily life. 

On view at the FOAM Museum

Dustin Thierry – Opulence

18 October – 8 December 2019

Buy tickets online

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Keïta’s remarkable archive of over 10.000 negatives came to light in 1992 after a discovery by André Magnin, the then-curator of Jean Pigozzi’s contemporary African art collection. Modern prints were printed from the negatives with Keïta’s collaboration, allowing his work to be introduced to the art world. International fame quickly followed. The exhibition in Foam consists of signed modern prints, and a large selection of unique vintage prints.

Seydou Keïta – Bamako Portraits is part of an exhibition series about photo studios, presented by Foam in recent years. This series is based on the growing interest in ‘vernacular photography’ and its acknowledgement of social-historical and artistic value. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) – The Pigozzi Collection.

Seydou Keïta – Bamako Portraits

6 April – 20 June 2018

Foam Museum

Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
The Netherlands

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