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Above: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) 2022 BA Photography graduates 1-2 Amy Opstal/ 3 Kay Fahner/ 4 Katia Motylova/ 5 Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor/ 6-7 Dion Bierdrager  Kay Fahner‘Over the past 30 years you will have found my mother sewing and listening in my parents’ shoe and clothes repair shop in Amsterdam-Noord. This is how she practices care. Sharing stories and responsibilities, the shop became our community’s haven; and my mom became the mother of many,’ writes Fahner. The photographs in the series take on an additional context due to the rise of gentrification in the area the shop is located in, which leaves the artist questioning how it will affect the community and the family-like relationships between residents and business owners. Dion Bierdrager also explores gentrification in the What can't see project which documents the Bogwang-dong district of South Korea which has been earmarked for redevelopment and left to go to ruin. The area, which has a diverse community of Pakistani, Arab and Turkish residents (amongst many others) is documented by Bierdrager in a mixture of urban portraiture and landscape imagery.  Fleur HuijsdensFleur Huijsden’s project focuses on the relationship between humans and cats. The project is a series of classical portraits of cats of varying breeds, and began after the photographer’s own pet cat, Mojo, passed away, becoming not only a photography project but a way to process grief. Huijsdens writes: ‘By portraying cats based on human archetypes, such as the nutty professor, the old neighbor, or the crying Maria, I discovered how humans tend to project their emotions onto these animals. We would like to believe that we understand what our pet is feeling. We see different emotions, but let's be honest, are there any?’  Katia MotylovaThe Russian invasion of Ukraine – from the occupation of Donbas in 2014 to current events – is documented in the work of Katia Motylova. The personal project features pictures from throughout the years including brightly lit towerblocks full of life, intimate interior details, derelict buildings and fresh graves.
Emma Grima's multiplatform project, Vulva Monologues, seeks to support all people with vulvas to explore self-pleasure to liberate and empower them. Grima says: ‘Through this project, I have discovered the 3 C’s - communication, consent, and confidence, which are all fundamental to be able to grow and unlock the doors to one's own sexual autonomy.To be able to have the confidence of full ownership of your body and know what you like is fundamental and so taking a first step, fed by your curiosities, is so important.’ Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor’s mixed media project – (S)ILHOUETTE – combines photography, augmented reality, film and 3D printed sculpture to explore unconscious bias and how the media depicts and misrepresents black men. See the work of all of the KABK 2022 BA Photography graduates on their website. 
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Gabriel Nkansah Bernard - Student Q&A - Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci
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Above: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) 2022 BA Photography graduates 1-2 Amy Opstal/ 3 Kay Fahner/ 4 Katia Motylova/ 5 Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor/ 6-7 Dion Bierdrager
ARTS THREAD takes a look at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) 2022 BA Photography graduates and shares some of the stand-out projects.
Amy Opstal captures ‘unconventional’ families and celebrates diverse types of parents including single women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The role of the mother was the starting point for Kay Fahner’s photography project which explores the shoe and clothing repair shop the photographer’s mother works in.
Kay Fahner‘Over the past 30 years you will have found my mother sewing and listening in my parents’ shoe and clothes repair shop in Amsterdam-Noord. This is how she practices care. Sharing stories and responsibilities, the shop became our community’s haven; and my mom became the mother of many,’ writes Fahner. The photographs in the series take on an additional context due to the rise of gentrification in the area the shop is located in, which leaves the artist questioning how it will affect the community and the family-like relationships between residents and business owners.
Dion Bierdrager also explores gentrification in the What can't see project which documents the Bogwang-dong district of South Korea which has been earmarked for redevelopment and left to go to ruin. The area, which has a diverse community of Pakistani, Arab and Turkish residents (amongst many others) is documented by Bierdrager in a mixture of urban portraiture and landscape imagery.
Fleur HuijsdensFleur Huijsden’s project focuses on the relationship between humans and cats. The project is a series of classical portraits of cats of varying breeds, and began after the photographer’s own pet cat, Mojo, passed away, becoming not only a photography project but a way to process grief.
Huijsdens writes: ‘By portraying cats based on human archetypes, such as the nutty professor, the old neighbor, or the crying Maria, I discovered how humans tend to project their emotions onto these animals. We would like to believe that we understand what our pet is feeling. We see different emotions, but let's be honest, are there any?’
Katia MotylovaThe Russian invasion of Ukraine – from the occupation of Donbas in 2014 to current events – is documented in the work of Katia Motylova. The personal project features pictures from throughout the years including brightly lit towerblocks full of life, intimate interior details, derelict buildings and fresh graves.
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Emma Grima's multiplatform project, Vulva Monologues, seeks to support all people with vulvas to explore self-pleasure to liberate and empower them. Grima says: ‘Through this project, I have discovered the 3 C’s - communication, consent, and confidence, which are all fundamental to be able to grow and unlock the doors to one's own sexual autonomy.To be able to have the confidence of full ownership of your body and know what you like is fundamental and so taking a first step, fed by your curiosities, is so important.’
Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor’s mixed media project – (S)ILHOUETTE – combines photography, augmented reality, film and 3D printed sculpture to explore unconscious bias and how the media depicts and misrepresents black men.
See the work of all of the KABK 2022 BA Photography graduates on their website.
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