Renate Beense

IPFL 2014

Just dad

the best option? 

in a tent in the garden 

hiding for dad’s cigarettes

dad is next to notorious smoker also a poet, 

a collector of newspapers 

and he likes to spent a lot of time in his head

he deviates from the norm 

used to be bring me to school in his snowsuit 

or went sunbathing in the garden 

and in doing so he chased my girlfriends away

dad is social and anti-social 

he does his own thing 

in which I admire him 

but it irritates me as well 

it seems we’re much alike 

people say so

Renate Beense says her family, the most important topic in her photography, taught her how important humor and laughter is when faced with tragedies. For the series Gewoon Pa (Just Dad) Renate documents her life with her chain smoking, poetry writing, newspaper collecting, naked sunbathing, social and anti-social dad who she admires but also finds annoying. Maybe that is because people always say how much alike they are. Her candid photographs are filled with humor but also reveal the special bond between a father and his daughter and the vulnerability of existence. When you get older keeping up appearances becomes less important, making your loved ones smile all the more so.

https://www.renatebeense.nl/ 

interview with LensCulture: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/renate-beense-just-dad