A little social experiment: "Kiekjes & Kliekjes"

Back into time

Before getting into the Social Experiment, I have to take you back into time for about two years and tell you that this is a repost. In 2015/2016 I have isolated myself from the physical world to take care of my father. I chose to be ‘alone’, because family mattered more to me than anything else, including myself. I developed a strong workaholic behavior during this time since that was all I had to rely on besides taking care of my father.

I believe that experiencing pain, sadness or dark times will eventually evolve into beautiful, positive and strong fundamental beliefs. As long as you see yourself not as a victim but as a victor. In this dualistic world, we measure things with duality. We choose between Good or Bad, Black or White, Light or Dark, etc. there is nothing in between, we can dim the light, but there will still be (less) light until we switch it off until we have darkness, and even then there is light. Light that is slightly harder to perceive. At that time, using several Social Media Platforms was the only way for me to interact with my friends, family and share my work with my followers.

Society had decided that I must use Instagram or Facebook, simply because I have taken a role being a photographer. I started to feel lonely and yet I started to value the little things in life more.

_{©2018 - @beherenow | This photograph is my favorite from these series}

Can I bring change?

So, I started thinking. Why do we ‘like’ each other so easily on Social Media Platforms, and why can’t we say ‘hi’ in real life? Are we desynchronizing with each other just because it is easier when we stare at a screen? Sure, why not. Something else what got into me was, if I would feel like this, there have to be more people who would share this feeling. Loneliness. I chose to be lonely. I knew I would be lonely if I would only spend my time into taking care of my dad and basically just work every day. I had to do something. The Ego started to motivate me: I have social skills. I can bring people together. I can offer something people might want or need.

I decided to organize an event. Food, drinks and a portrait. Getting a portrait was the ‘bait’. My core-business is photographing businesses and I have stepped away from photographing families, so this was a motivational trigger right there. I was excited and worried. How many people would come? Who would be interested? Doubting myself. What if it’s not good enough or what if it would feel… Fuck that social media pressure.

And just like that, the experiment started.

The first person bought a ticket. The second one followed, four people joined. And before the end of the next week, I had 20 random people in my house I did and did not know. Awesome. It was a walk-in, people could come and people could leave whenever they would like to. I had a cold Indonesian buffet prepared so people could eat anytime they want, whenever they want.

Since I could only photograph one person at a time, and the room was filled with more than one person. They had to talk to each other, or there would be many awkward minutes of silence. During the photography sessions, I hear laughter and I see people loosen-up more and more. It’s interesting to see the change of body-language. Some people went to the store to buy some beer and wine because I was all out! “Next time you can use my place! This is so much fun!”, “I did not expect to have so much fun”. People were surprised this little ‘event’ could be so much fun and interactive, they were happy, they had energy. “Hey, we’re all going to this party downtown, do you want to come with us?”. Ha! Even if it was just for a brief moment, I knew I gave something more than just a portrait. A Connection.

We might be strangers, but we have more in common than we actually think. I think this experiment just proofed we all seek real and physical interaction.

Later when everybody left, I took a shower and changed my clothes. Getting ready for… Oh yeah, I fell asleep.

Thanks for reading

Stay tuned,
@beherenow

_{A b o u t t h e A r t i s t}