Photo Talk: Can Photography Rebuild Connection in a Divided World?
Date: May 22, 20:00
Location: Arminius
In a time of hyper-connectivity and growing social fragmentation, what role can photography play in restoring meaningful connection? More than just image-making, photography can be an act of sharing—of personal stories, collective memory, and visions of a future shaped by reimagined common values.
Together with Stacii Samidin, Laura Chen, Julia Gat, Yusser Al Obaidiand Sean Carlton White, we’ll explore how photography might bridge divides between polarized communities, open up space for dialogue, and contribute to healing societal fractures.
The discussion will be moderated by Nicky Angelina do Rosario and Otto Snoek.
Laura Chen is a Dutch photographer, collage artist and writer. Her practice is highly intuitive, experimental and playful. Within her work, research, implementation and intervention are closely intertwined. She often employs a mixed-media approach, combining image, text and analogue photomontage techniques. She is drawn to the obscurities and idiosyncrasies of mundane life, notions of impermanence, and a connection with the subconscious. Be it objects, places or people situated on the fringes of society — her images are tranquil observations of traces and rituals that often go unnoticed, are ignored or forgotten. Other recurring interests include: (science) fiction, surrealism, dreams, hauntology, memory, linguistics, genealogy, mythology, synchronicity and serendipity.
Sean Charlton White is a Swiss–British photographer, graphic designer, and artist. He is currently based in The Hague where he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague (KABK) in 2023 after completing a foundation year at ECAL. Through the use of humor, his work explores the intersections of documentary and fiction, often reflecting on society’s structures, media consumption and narratives, as well as environmental issues.
Alongside his artistic practice, he works as a photo editor and designer for The Wire magazine. He is also involved with the London-based publishing house Here Press, where he collaborates with Ben Weaver on editing, designing, and distributing photobooks.
Stacii Samidin is a Rotterdam-based documentary photographer and filmmaker. Raw honesty, radicalism, and unfamiliar territories are the foundation of Samidin’s continuous life’s work called Societies. At the core, is the essence of seeing, hearing and accepting a human being without prejudice and judgment. Documenting the lives of minorities, the oppressed and of those with unorthodox lifestyles all around the world. Creating a shift in the individual and collective consciousness by challenging our perception and raising the voices of the unheard through photography and film.
Julia Gat is a photographer, filmmaker, and co-founder of SOLAR, a collective representing women photographers based in Marseille. Blending documentary and portraiture, her work explores intimacy, freedom, and human relationships — capturing subtle narratives of our shared existence and timeless reflections on collective life, connection, and solitude. She develops long-term personal projects as well as editorial commissions.
Yusser al Obaidi is a decolonial feminist researcher, writer and graphic designer who seeks to acknowledge and enable the radical potential of intimate relational spaces. She is head of talent by fotodok.nl and a curator at the Gemaal op Zuid.