Invited by Melkweg expo and Holland festival, a group of artists were asked to translate photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe’s work into their own.

Immediately the viewer is met with an exploration of sexuality, eroticism and identity, themes known to be at the core of Mapplethorpe’s work. However, the interpretation of them vastly differs from his with digitally constructed illustrations and even landscape photography to represent the artists connection to home. Standing back from the work you can see bodies intertwined, power stances, contradicted with the vulnerability of nudity. This contradiction mimics those in the minds of a questioning queer identity, something we get an insight of through Dylan Van Vliet’s work. He asks “but how can you love when you are always doubting your own being”- nude bodies and grasping hands shown in diptychs presenting multiple truths with neither holding superiority. His works shows the scattered desperation for an answer or clarity but refuses to provide either, instead showing the complexity of an unsure sexuality. Although it provides a thought-provoking reconstruction of Mapplethorpe’s work I don’t feel it pushes the boundaries of the inspiration he provided. This is partially made up for in a poem written in his description of work, if this poem was given more of a focus I feel it could have provided more of an experience rather than just an admiration of his work.