Je moest eens weten

Authentic and personal

Çiğdem Yüksel is known for her personal involvement and her innovative approach to social themes. Her work is characterized by the strong bond she builds with the people she portrays, which allows their stories to be captured in an authentic and powerful way. With this first major solo exhibition, Yüksel highlights the lives and stories of the first generation of women from Turkey in the Netherlands, a group that has often remained underexposed in Dutch history.

22 unique stories

The exhibition consists of 22 unique stories, accompanied by photos from family albums, (video) interviews and new portraits that Yüksel made in her mobile photo studio. They tell about the pain of migration, homesickness, getting lost and finding your way. Working, caring for the children, learning the language. Love and unhappy marriages. Being restricted as a woman and emancipation. Their contribution to the Dutch economy as a factory worker or cleaner, and their fight for freedom and equal rights. Their stories are diverse, layered, ambiguous, as every human experience is. A central part of the exhibition is a video installation in which Yüksel reflects intimately on the memories and thoughts of her deceased grandmother.

The exhibition also pays tribute to the recently deceased documentary photographer Bertien van Manen (1935 – 2024).