Artist
Oxiea Villamonte
Oxiea Villamonte (b. 1995) was born in the USA and raised in the Netherlands. She holds both a BA and MFA in Photography from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Shortly after graduating, her book – Next of Kin – was published by Stockmans Art Books. Through self-portraits and archival material, the project presents the artist’s search for identity in Chicago, where her mother spent her formative years. More recently, Villamonte embarked on a 10-month journey through America by Amtrak, guided by photographs from her parents’ archive. Her work is highly personal, guided by a fascination with identity, and with the legacy of her upbringing in the choices she makes.
Next of kin
Next of Kin tells my story through three different generations of women. It's not a linear one, neither a chronological one. It is an intertwining story where the past and the present try to connect with each other as well as disconnect. My identity is deeply influenced by my mother and how she has raised me. When looking in a mirror I see my mother staring back at me. While embracing these similarities, there still runs a fear through me of repeating similar choices. This path of finding my own identity has led met to Chicago, the place where I was born. By using the archive of my mother when she was my age, I try to deceive the viewer into thinking we are one person. This feeling even gets reinforced in the similarity of the style and the people we choose to surround us with. In the meanwhile, my grandmothers' voice echoes throughout the book in the form of questions right before she died. My grandmother and mother shared also this almost identical relationship as I do with my mother. Next to this search in finding similarities, I also try to find a way to distinguish myself. This distinction I find in my alternate self, that I call Zillah.
Dedicated to Virginia and Reina.
The format hasn’t changed since the magazine’s inception in 2012. However, the project's scope has expanded significantly – .tiff has evolved into a platform, offering a year-long trajectory of presentations, conversations with experts, and exhibitions. FOMU leverages its extensive network, expertise and resources to stimulate the artists' artistic practices and personal visions.
The selection process involves reaching out to professionals in the Belgian photography scene, as well as to previous participants. This results in a long-list encompassing a diverse range of backgrounds. For this edition, FOMU departed from its usual practice and solicited the expertise of 3 external jurors: Sorana Munsya, independent curator; Anna Planas, artistic director of Paris Photo; and Max Pinckers, .tiff alumnus and artist. Together, we carefully curated a diverse group of artists, always mindful of whether the participants would benefit from our support at this particular juncture in their careers.
This 11th edition of .tiff marks a new beginning with a fresh design, while it also safeguards its strengths. Throughout the years, .tiff has fostered a thriving Belgian photography community that transcends language barriers, enabling rich exchanges of ideas between artists, curators and critics. The current selection exemplifies the continued growth of this community, and Belgian photography’s ability to reinvent itself year after year.