Art is a way for me to connect with myself and my surroundings. It is deeply part of who I am and for me a tool beyond words. This became clear to me after living and working for several months with the Fulani people in West Africa. It was when I did not yet speak the language, that colours, lines and shapes connected us. Later, when words were not enough, visual images connected us and allowed us to communicate on a deeper level. Since then, it has been the best medium for me to connect with my environment, to digest experiences and to show things that I cannot express in any other way. 

In the current time when conflicts often escalate quickly, science does not always offer a solution anymore and politics can be so polarizing, art also offers me a chance to connect, have a conversation, ask questions and explore multiple perspectives. Art offers me an opportunity for change. 

By capturing my personal experiences with local groups in visual images, I aim to open up conversations about larger questions of life. For example, about what other communities could offer us in our search for a more connected way of living, with each other and with the world around us. My work is a tool to make room for other groups of people and their inspiring differences. It is my way to invite people to (self)reflection on the world we live in and to create awareness that things do not have to be the way they are. 

Instagram: @annanunes.portaits