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