Me & My Ride

What does the way you get from A to B actually say about you? In neighbourhoods outside the city centre, where public transport doesn’t always connect conveniently, having a good vehicle can be a necessity rather than a luxury. Especially in Nieuw-West, your mode of transport often determines how quickly you can get to work, visit family or reach your favourite place. For some people, their vehicle becomes an extension of who they are.

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For the exhibition Me & My Ride, photographer Patrick Kenawy took to the streets of West and Nieuw-West, looking for people with a special connection to their vehicle. He spotted some of them together with the Van Eesteren Museum team while they were simply out and about, others responded to an open call. The result is a diverse series of portraits: from a Canta to a camper-turned-coffee shop, and from a classic car to Nieuw-West’s unofficial symbol: the fatbike.

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Each photograph was taken in a place that means something to the person portrayed, somewhere they often go or have a personal history with. The images reveal the everyday routes people take, while also showing how vehicles can become almost like a second skin. And that a ride can also be a statement about identity, political beliefs or dreams.

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Together, the photographs and stories form a distinctive portrait of West and Nieuw-West: a way of getting to know a neighbourhood through the people who live and work there, and the vehicles they use to move through their everyday lives

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Colophon
Photography: Patrick Kenawy
Curation: Ewa Scheifes
Graphic design: Erik de Hart
Spatial design: Erik de Hart & Juliana Vasilakou
Technical production: Pepijn de Kock
Van Eesteren Museum team: Jorn Konijn, Eva van Vessem, Michiel Stoop, Juliana Vasilakou.

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With special thanks to Memet, Joel, Tessa, Dané, Odessa, Milouda, Sem, Kaspar, Tim, Liselot, Dennis, Lawrence & Chris. 

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Made possible by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie.