“You mind if I take your photo?”
“I know why you want to photograph me. It’s because I am stoned and black.”
“You think you are black?”
“I know I am black and I am proud of it.”

“I was born in a town called Dresden in the East of Germany. For many years my parents and grandparents lived under the Sovjet regime. At home we don´t really talk about it that much. Every now and then my parents will tell stories about life in the east before the fall of the Berlin wall.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I think because those times were pretty rough. Some people could not see their families for years and many people just randomly disappeared because they did not agree with the regime. I also think many people don´t really talk about it that much because it´s not considered as history yet. It wasn’t that long ago.”

She’s got the whole wide world in her hands.

“I am the son of a pastor.”
“What is it like to be the son of a pastor?”
“It has never bothered me in any way. Of course many people in church know who you are and they sort of expect you to behave in a certain manner. But my parents have always giving me a lot of freedom to explore myself and to find my own identity. A few months ago I decided to become more involved with my religion. Now I feel much more at peace with myself.”

I tried to talk with her but she didn’t speak Dutch or English.Then she gave me a warm smile and played ‘my heart will go on’ for me. When she finished the song she refused to accept the cash I wanted to give her.

I was supposed to photograph Bruno and his twin brother Benjamin. Bruno didn’t mind to be photographed but his twin kept running away from me. Then I talked to their dad and he said: “Don’t take it personal, Benjamin is more the type who likes toy guns and to play cowboys and Indians. Bruno in the other hand won’t mind posing. He is the type that likes pink stuff. He is like a little queen.”