From a young age I have lost a large number of people around me, which has given me a fascination for the rituals around funerals. My collection is a fusion of this fascination and my great love for feminine beauty. I have been able to link my vision on femininity to the Victorian mourning portraits in which widows were portrayed in extremely elaborated mourning dress. I took these grief portraits as a starting point and translated them into a modern group portrait in which several generations of women praise the power of femininity.

Photo: Imke Panhuijzen