4 April – 23 August 2026
From 4 April 2026, the Fotomuseum Den Haag presents Mixedness is My Mythology, the first solo museum exhibition of the South African Dutch photographer Farren van Wyk (1993). In her work, Van Wyk explores the complex historical and personal relationship between South Africa and the Netherlands, reflecting on themes such as migration, ethnicity, colonialism and apartheid. The exhibition runs until 23 August.
Van Wyk’s photographs present a layered and personal photographic exploration of mixed identity. Born in 1993, the last year of apartheid, to a South African mother and a Dutch father, she was classified in South Africa as ‘coloured’. At six, she and her family moved to Putten in the Netherlands, where her experiences have been shaped by a mix of cultural influences: Dutch, South African and the African diaspora.
Family
In Mixedness is My Mythology, Van Wyk gives the central role to her family, photographing her parents and brothers and creating the work in collaboration with them. She explores how the apartheid category of ‘coloured’ has shaped her history and how she and her family have gradually deconstructed this imposed identity and visualised their own. The images are intimate portraits and carefully staged moments in which her family members are not only subjects but also co-storytellers. The family farm in Putten, where they live and work, forms the backdrop in all the photos.
Black-and-white photography
Van Wyk has made a conscious choice to employ the traditional visual idiom of black-and-white photography. In this seemingly grey area, she questions and redefines what it means to be a ‘person of colour’. The choice for black and white creates space for reflection on representation, visibility and history while also allowing her to work towards a personal and collective acceptance of a mixed identity. By developing her own iconography, Van Wyk creates her own mythology, a visual universe in which past and present, family history and social structures converge.
Exhibition and publication
The exhibition at the Fotomuseum Den Haag features more than fifty photographs from the series Mixedness is My Mythology, including older and more recent images. The exhibition is accompanied by Van Wyk’s first photo book, Mixedness is my Mythology, published by Fw:Books and Deadbeat Club Press.
Farren van Wyk
Farren van Wyk (South Africa, 1993) is a South African Dutch photographer and teacher. She has a BA in photography and an MA in cultural and visual anthropology. Her research-oriented work focuses on methods of decolonising historical and cultural misrepresentations of people of colour. Van Wijk is a member of the African Photojournalist Association at World Press Photo, Black Women Photographers, PH Museum and Women Photograph. In addition to her personal artistic practice, she is a research fellow at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU) and is the web and photo editor of ZAM magazine.
Note for editors
For more information, extra press images and interview requests:
Annemarie van den Eijkel | +31 642 216 272 | avandeneijkel@fmdh.nl
