When you visit a group exhibition and encounter many unfamiliar names on display, it’s usually a good sign. Your heart swells with anticipation, and your mind eagerly absorbs fresh inspiration— you’re on the verge of discovering something new. This was exactly my experience at the Foam Talent 2024-2025 exhibition held at FOAM Amsterdam—a complete immersion into the artistic visions of 20 young talents who, through their exploration of crucial social themes and innovative approaches, are charting new paths in photography.
In this type of group exhibition that showcases emerging talent, it’s tempting to prioritize aesthetics, to indulge in the allure of the spectacular, or the conceptual. However, curator Aya Musa resists these prevailing industry trends, opting instead to orchestrate a multifaceted dialogue between the artists, rich in substance and visually impactful. In the rooms of FOAM, aesthetics serve as a tangible manifestation of the underlying message within the artworks, rather than overshadowing it.
The exhibition develops on three floors, structured to facilitate a thematic connection among works showcased within the same spaces. A unifying thread across all pieces is the endeavour to capture the polyphonic nature of the contemporary world through diverse themes and creative approaches. The projects span along a broad spectrum, touching on a broad variety of concepts such as belonging, cultural identity, heritage and colonial legacies, self-expression, gender disparity, the impact of AI and the interconnectedness of digital and physical realities.
While some artworks adhere strictly to photographic conventions, others delve into experimental territory, embracing hybridization with other artistic languages. Each artist is allocated an equal portion of wall space, ensuring fair representation and opportunity to present their work. The layout offers a quasi-solo exhibition experience for each artist, highlighting the uniqueness of their contributions while fostering dialogue among their peers.
One of the most astonishing findings includes Akshay Mahajan’s “People of Clay,” a visual narrative inspired by local melodies from the Rajbanshi community in Assam and Bengal, India. Throughout history, this community has faced misidentification and cultural erasure due to colonial bureaucracy. Mahajan’s series tells of his quest to explore the essence of ‘identity’ through a dynamic and diverse installation, featuring various methods of showcasing materials, from framed images to maps and texts.
Shifting the subject, Sander Coers presents “POST,” a collection of AI-generated images merged with archival photographs, probing the construction of memory and masculinity within our visual culture. Seeking to uncover the complete story of his late grandfather and his Indonesian background, Coers blends multiple AI-generated images with family archival photos, crafting an unexpectedly intimate, authentic, yet entirely fictional family album. Notably, the cropping of the photos creates a narrative that blends fragmentation and recomposition, in a well-balanced display.
Lastly, Issam Larkat’s series “Frantz Fanon, Me and the Questions,” pays homage to Frantz Fanon, a key figure in the global anti-colonial struggle of the 1950s. Larkat’s practice intertwines photographs, archival images, and handcrafted drawings, skillfully translating his inquiries into thought-provoking collages rooted in his experiences in Algeria. Yet, they also resonate with the broader fight against injustice and neocolonialism. The display captivates and involves viewers, employing a mixed-media narrative that guides them towards a comprehensive understanding of the project.
Visiting the rooms of FOAM feels akin to encountering a tapestry of contemporary life. Every artist delves into their unique realm, inevitably engaging with the present society they inhabit, as well as the echoes of the past and the potential of the future.
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FOAM Talent 2024-2025 was exhibited in FOAM, Amsterdam (23 Feb – 22 May, 2024) and includes the following artists:
Aaryan Sinha, Akshay Mahajan, Amin Yousefi, Andrea Orejaarna & Caleb Stein, André Ramos-Woodard, Cansu Yıldıran, Cristóbal Ascencio, Eleonora Agostini, Florian Braakman, Issam Larkat, Jaclyn Wright, Marisol Mendez, MAryam Touzani, Rehab Eldalil, Ricardo Nagaoka, Sander Coers, Sheung Yiu, Shwe Wutt Hmon, Thero Makepe, Xin Li.
This exhibition was reviewed for Photomonitor by Rica Cerbarano, a curator, writer and project coordinator specialising in photography. She writes regularly for Vogue Italia and Il Giornale dell’Arte, of which she is the co-editor of the Photography section. In addition to editorial collaborations, she works as an exhibition manager for various festivals, institutions and non-profit organisations. In 2017 she co-founded the Kublaiklan collective, which explores accessible ways of interacting with photography through the design of exhibitions and educational activities. Her curatorial research focuses mainly on collaborative and cross-disciplinary practices and the generative role of photographic installations in public space.
