ABOUT STERRE FENNA VAN DER WAALS
Sterre Fenna van der Waals (1995) graduated in photography from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and currently works as a freelance photographer and art teacher. Van der Waals won the Olympus Young Talent Award in 2017 and has exhibited at the PCA gallery in Paris and at FotoFestival Naarden.

ABOUT THE SERIES
The long hair of  Van der Waals’s brother led to many reactions when they were both young. Boys shouldn’t have long hair. Yet her brother went his own way, while Van der Waals did everything she could to live up to the ideal. In My Brother & I, the photographer explores what it feels like to choose not to fully live up to society’s expectations in terms of appearance.

THE JURY
A bold series with its own signature, as well as a series that will resonate for a long time. We feel the photographer’s love for her model and at the same time everything is tense. It’s great how the photographer makes sure that the viewers take a stand. And adjust their bias.