Neighbours Day

These children experience Neighbours Day with traditional Dutch games. The photos were commissioned by Academie van de Stad.
These children experience Neighbours Day with traditional Dutch games. The photos were commissioned by Academie van de Stad.
Representative yet personal. Two portraits created for the LinkedIn profile picture. Model: Marleen Mak. May 2014.
In late 2012 I traveled through Central-America, where I met many wonderful children. Very often, their circumstances are nothing to write home about, but the look in their eyes certainly is. The largest part of this series was shot in Guatemala, on behalf of charity organization Mayan Families.
The Maya are not a thing of the past; in countries like Mexico and Honduras, Maya Indians make up sizeable minorities. The vast majority of Maya live in present-day Guatemala, where they maintain old traditions while trying to keep up with the modern world.
In Central America, the market is central to daily life. In this series, I have portrayed people surrounded by their merchandise: commerce in its purest form.