Rineke Dijkstra’s photographed three young mothers after they’d given birth, without glamorizing it. One mother was photographed an hour after giving birth, another photographed one day afterwards, and the third one week later.
Don’t miss this VIDEO (I can’t embed it), where Rineke Dijkstra talks about the work.
Julie, Den Haag, Netherlands 1994 © Rineke Dijkstra
Saskia, Harderwijk, Netherlands 1994 © Rineke Dijkstra
Tecla, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1994 © Rineke Dijkstra
The same year Rineke Dijkstra photographed the new mothers, she also made a series of portraits of young Portuguese Bull Fighters, which were taken immediately after they left the bullring.
“The matadors came out covered in blood and exhausted – very similar to the mothers…I did not intend to do the men like that, all macho and the women as mothers – it just evolved from the experience…women make this extreme physical effort…while the men search for it as a kind of adventure. But still, both are exhausting and life-threatening actions.”- Rineke Dijkstra
In a way, these two series support each other and reinforce stereotypes of masculinity and femininity.
Bull Fighters from Vila Franca de Xira and Montemor o Novo in Portugal © Rineke Dijkstra
Bull Fighters from Vila Franca de Xira and Montemor o Novo in Portugal © Rineke Dijkstra Bull Fighters from Vila Franca de Xira and Montemor o Novo in Portugal © Rineke Dijkstra
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#Rineke Dijkstra #Bull Fighters #Mothers
