A Dutch photographer became frustrated by negative claims about young people and wanted to celebrate queer youth who were breaking traditional norms. Guided by solidarity, he developed a portrait project focused on emergent queer identities, experiences, and style. To capture a mood of brave liberation, he turned his attention to Mexico City, where he saw trans and queer youth as more daring than in New York. He described them as fragile yet warrior-like, and emphasized refusing anyone telling them what to do. He assembled a diverse group of queer young people through casting networks and recruited stylist Chino Castilla to help realize his nonconformist vision.
"“I would hear from my older friends that the younger generation weren't doing anything interesting,” he says, from his family home in Geldrop, Netherlands. But Henket and his husband, casting director Roger Inniss, felt differently. “We would meet people at our castings that were so beautifully intelligent; who were breaking free from traditional norms in how they lived their lives and presented themselves,” he says. “I wanted to celebrate these kids and give them a platform.”"
"“I have a very deep love and connection with Mexico City,” he says. “As I was visiting, I realised the queer kids, the trans kids - what I call free-spirited birds - were more daring than the ones in New York. A bird is strong and can travel the whole world, but at the same time it's very fragile. These kids are so fragile in their beautiful beings, but they go out on the street like warriors.”"
"“We didn't want to have anybody telling us what to do. These are our queer people, and I was not going to sacrifice anything” - Pieter Henket"
"Assembling a diverse group of queer young people cast from streets, parks, agencies, through connections and word of mouth, Henket recruited Mexico City-born stylist and Willy Chavarria collaborator Chino Castilla to help bring his nonconformist vision to life."
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