On Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., the photo exhibition, "Undocumented and Aged," featuring images by Mona van den Berg, will open at the Moses and Aaron Church. They show 23 stories of dashed hopes. Do they keep hope alive?
All of Mona van den Berg's work shows commitment to vulnerable groups. Also in the book and exhibition "Undocumented and Aged." We see and read about people who once came to the Netherlands to build a life here, but who never applied for or received a Dutch passport. These are people who are now elderly and struggling with the limitations and inconveniences that come with it. The photographs show the vulnerable lives of undocumented elderly people in the Netherlands. And as far as Mona is concerned, a life not worth living.
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You are a lawyer. Isn't the law more powerful than the camera?
I wasn't made for desk work. As a lawyer you have to get bogged down in details, I'm not good at that. As an asylum lawyer you are working on the individual case, but I felt that the system had to change. Moreover, asylum policy was becoming more rigid and rigid. My anger about inequality and injustice in the system are my driving force. Therefore, the legal profession was not a suitable place for me, so I started a photography course alongside my work as a lawyer.
What does photography bring you?
As a photographer, I get to walk outside the box. I can make things visible that I couldn't as a lawyer. Because some things are right according to the law, but in my opinion are not just, like the stories in this exhibition.
What do viewers see in the photos?
I photograph close to the skin. I get to get close to people. The fact that I connect easily with marginalized groups is probably because I have an approachable and empathetic personality.
Many images look direct and raw, why is that?
I see myself as a journalist so I take honest and judgment-free pictures. I don't stage anything. If the images are raw, that's what it is. And if that rawness evokes discomfort, that's not a bad thing. The fact that these living conditions occur in the Netherlands is okay for me to see.
Is that also what the people portrayed want?
They want their situation to be seen. While they go through life quite invisible on a daily basis. Not that they have many expectations anymore. They often know full well how slim the chances are that they will ever have a legal life in the Netherlands. They often know it even if that chance is not there at all. But maybe they still have a little bit of hope. Hope that something will happen when it becomes visible what it is like to live without papers in the Netherlands.
Personally, I am not optimistic about their chances. Certainly not given the political situation now. But that does not relieve me of the obligation to oppose injustice.
Exhibition and photo book
Mona's photographs are on display from Feb. 15 to March 22 at the Mozes en Aaronkerk in Amsterdam. The opening of the exhibition is on February 15 at 3 p.m.
.The photographs make up a book: Undocumented and Aged, Mona van den Berg. With a foreword by Ernest van der Kwast. 144 pages | isbn 97 894 9192 198 8 € 25,- The publication was made possible by the Paulus Church in Rotterdam and De Regenboog Groep Amsterdam. You can order the book from the publisher (info@uitgeverijjurgenmaas.nl) and get it at the exhibition, among other places.