Mixedness is my Mythology, the first monograph by South African–Dutch photographer Farren van Wyk, explores themes of identity, representation and personal agency.
Juxtaposing the artist’s lived experience in the Netherlands with her inherited history as a native of post-apartheid South Africa, van Wyk navigates the space where personal narratives intersect with broader histories of representation, colonialism and power, ultimately producing a body of work that is both deeply intimate and widely resonant.
Along with photographs of her family tending to their land or engaged in tender acts of care, van Wyk develops her own idiosyncratic iconography, examining the construction of a hybrid identity shaped by migration, diaspora and cultural intersectionality. Bringing together South African, Dutch, African American, and classical European cultural references, multiple lineages coexist within her images, resisting fixed definitions and singular origins. By building this personal mythology, rooted in family history, iconic imagery, and reappropriated cultural symbols, van Wyk asserts her visual sovereignty, embracing complexity and nuance while reclaiming the right to self-definition.
The project is on view in the exhibition Minor Tides from 2 July to 10 October at Centre de la photographie Genève (Espace Ami-Lullin).
