Artist
Youqine Lefèvre
Youqine Lefèvre was born in Yueyang, China, in 1993. Nominated for Futures by FOMU, she lives and works in Namur, Belgium.
The Land of Promises is an invitation to explore transnational and transracial adoption in China and Belgium, both in the present day and in the past. One can imagine that during China’s one-child policy era Belgium represented “the promised land” for baby girls whose parents had to give them up. And yet, as Youqine Lefèvre’s work unfolds, and she moves from her parents’ archives to her own images, the perspective shifts. When she visits her birth country, China becomes the land of promises — of finding her roots? Her birth family? Herself?
Such an ambitious promise is easy to break, which explains the palpable melancholy in Youqine Lefèvre’s pictures. Her work also conveys the ambiguity of her position: as an adult adoptee visiting her birth country, she is “an outsider within”, so close to her photographic subjects and yet so far away. From this perspective, art is the new land of promises for Lefèvre, who uses multiple supports (film, paper, etc.) in her photographic practice to create a world where she can live her truths. The work produced by the artist thus generates the artist. Youqine Lefèvre is not only reclaiming her own narrative, but challenging the status of archives that in her hands become both art and a political statement.
Ultimately, The Land of Promises is an invitation to decentre whiteness and the Global North in the visual narrative surrounding transnational and transracial adoption.
- Text by Amandine Gay (.TIFF)
The Land of Promises
The Land of Promises is an invitation to explore transnational and transracial adoption in China and Belgium, both in the present day and in the past. One can imagine that during China’s one-child policy era Belgium represented “the promised land” for baby girls whose parents had to give them up. And yet, as Youqine Lefèvre’s work unfolds, and she moves from her parents’ archives to her own images, the perspective shifts. When she visits her birth country, China becomes the land of promises—of finding her roots? Her birth family? Herself?
Such an ambitious promise is easy to break, which explains the palpable melancholy in Youqine Lefèvre’s pictures. Her work also conveys the ambiguity of her position: as an adult adoptee visiting her birth country, she is “an outsider within”, so close to her photographic subjects and yet so far away. From this perspective, art is the new land of promises for Lefèvre, who uses multiple supports (film, paper, etc.) in her photographic practice to create a world where she can live her truths. The work produced by the artist thus generates the artist. Youqine Lefèvre is not only reclaiming her own narrative, but challenging the status of archives that in her hands become both art and a political statement.
Ultimately, The Land of Promises is an invitation to decentre whiteness and the Global North in the visual narrative surrounding transnational and transracial adoption.
- Text by Amandine Gay (.TIFF)
The 9th edition of .tiff reflects a diversity of voices, positions and subject matter. It is a passionate group of artists and photographers who each try to give personal answers to today’s questions. Youqine Lefèvre (1993, CN) and Joud Toamah (1992, SY) take their personal histories of migration and family archivesas a starting point to explore relationships and the idea of belonging. Lived experience also guides the work of Ugo Woatzi (1991, FR) and his celebration of queer masculinities. Erien Withouck (1994, BE) and Josephina van de Water (1985, NL) use myths and fables to comment on today’s society, whereas Sébastien Cuvelier (1975, BE) creates a visual
fictional paradise. Kamel Moussa (1981, BE) captures the devastating condition of refugees and human resilience. Aurélie Bayad (1994, FR) expresses desires and anxieties in a networked world, whereas Michiel De Cleene (1988, BE) invites viewers to construct their own narrative based on a web of images and information. Lastly, Lucas Leffler (1993, BE) explores the materiality of the photographic medium and its rich history. The ten photographers work in a variety of media, including books, video, performance and installations. Their stories are as diverse as their approach: documentary, analytical, poetic, conceptual, humorous, intimate and most of all fresh and thought-provoking.
Over the years, .tiff has succeeded in building a Belgian photography community that breaches language barriers and allows for an exchange of ideas and insights between artists, curators, critics and researchers. The current selection shows that this community is ever growing and that Belgian photography will continue to reinvent itself for many years to come.