Dustin Thierry

Opulence

My current project Opulence is an ode to my late brother and all people from Afro-Caribbean descent, that still are not free to live and express their sexuality to their fullest. To this day homosexuality is strongly stigmatised and condemned within the Caribbean community. Also, black people from the former colonies and the Caribbean islands in the Netherlands are increasingly racialised and objectified. This project seeks to break out of this dichotomy by portraying these subjects in unadorned, raw yet graceful portraits. The project records my attempt to build a living archive of feelings, gender expressions and LGBTQ identities of the Black Caribbean diaspora in the Netherlands as a testimony of the vitality and longevity of the Black LGBTQ community in The Netherlands and the Caribbean.

Photographer

Dustin Thierry

Dustin (1985 Willemstad, Curaçao), lives and works in Amsterdam. Currently working on two projects concerning African/Caribbean identity in the Netherlands.

The issues I address in my photos are often as personal as they are social: I’m fascinated by what drives people. As opinions and pictures fly around the world, I try and capture moments of stillness for reflection.

I believe that every image reveals its own when given the time and attention it deserves. That’s why I tend to prefer traditional methods. Part of their incomparable beauty lies in the manual process of developing and printing, in which the slowing down of time plays a vital role.

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