Louis Kerckhof

What inspires your work and what is your creative process?

“Mainly the people I photograph and get in contact with are my biggest inspiration. My work is an ode to everyone who is unapologetically themselves and gives me inspiration to further investigate the social construct that is gender. When I was younger, I missed authentic people in my close environment and therefore looked up to and admired people who were true to themselves. My work aims to be an inspiration for my younger self to show that you are not alone, and it is ok to be yourself. Even if you feel that you don’t fit in, use that as your strength, the thing that makes you stand out and unique to the rest of the people around you.”

What about photography as a medium speaks to you? How did you get your start in it?

“From a young age, photography always spoke to me, especially analogue photography. I was so fascinated by how light could create an image on a simple film roll. And you could forever look back to that moment and the emotions that were connected to it. Just as a song can bring back memories, photos can have the same effect. Later, I chose to focus on portrait photography because I was always fascinated by people and their own personal story. When I’m in public, I can sometimes wonder who a random stranger is, where they come from, what their story is, and where they are heading to. With portrait photography I could capture the beauty of a person and what fascinates me about them, and hopefully in the proces also making them see their own beauty and strength.”

Are there any recurring themes/issues you like to address within your work?

“Since I had a difficult time exploring my own gender identity and sexuality at a young age, gender and identity have always been recurring themes in my work that are very important to me. I am drawn to adolescents who are in this phase of exploring their identity and on the verge of becoming an adult. I find this a very interesting life phase because it forms a big part of your identity. Although, I believe your identity still changes over the rest of the years, but during your youngster years the changes are most present and visible. When I started my series, Queer was a word I wasn’t sure what it meant, I had heard of it but only vaguely. But I noticed the meaning of queer was changing from something negative into something positive (before queer was used a slur referring to something not normal, peculiar, and/or odd). And I wanted to photograph and capture those societal changes that I felt were happening around me.”