since 2017
European
photography
platform
Welcome to the European photography platform here you can explore a network of photographers, members of the platform and read more about us.
Artist Projects
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) colonised Sri Lanka between 1658 and 1796. In their efforts to secure a monopoly on the cinnamon trade they transformed the landscape and culture of Sri Lanka, leaving traces visible today. Cinnamon is a spice of stories about competing empires, bloody battles, forced labour, land appropriation, and resilience. Upon entering Western recipes, cinnamon appears to have been wiped clean of its brutal past with most unaware of the fraught colonial history of this once highly sought-after spice.
I use the historical importance of cinnamon as a point of departure, to generate a critical dialogue that unpacks some of the forgotten stories and violent histories from this period.
‘To taste a bittersweet history’ is a research-based project looks at the atypical heritage of the Dutch VOC’s colonisation of Sri Lanka in the 17th century and explores how visual media can be used to address colonial legacies, as well as the wider cultural relationships between the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. The project uses photography, archival material, collages, video, and printmaking to reclaim and subvert colonial narratives by suggesting alternate ways of looking at a shared history.
This project is both personal and political and asks important questions about how we can make space for alternative narratives and methods of storytelling – ones that are inclusive and representational in order to interrogate how histories are understood, engaged with and remembered.
recent stories
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Events
futures activities
FUTURES is a European Photography Platform that brings together the global photography community to support and nurture the professional development of emerging artists worldwide.
FUTURES curates exhibitions and programs, including talks, through our extensive network of top European curators and artists.
The FUTURES Residency Program provides selected emerging photographers with the time, space, and resources to develop new work, with a strong focus on the artistic process and research.
FUTURES annual publications feature in-depth articles, interviews and conversations with key players from the global community. Released alongside the annual exhibition, the publication showcases work by FUTURES artists alongside commissioned essays on some of the most compelling issues in contemporary photography.