Because I had no plans for who I wanted to speak to in Amsterdam I was able to organically see where different conversations took me. Freedom and flexibility were two of the main themes running through this residency, and to me feels like a core of Mediamatic.
I interviewed, photographed and filmed four people in Amsterdam. Xoi, a 22 year-old neurodivergent cinematographer I met on a night at the Mediamatic pizza restaurant;
Yunil, a 28 year-old artist who has lived between Korea, the U.S., Japan and now Amsterdam;
Kaneesha, who I met at a panel talk I took part in at Mediamatic. Kaneesha and their wife Nouria share a house with Nouria's best friend and her wife. Living outside Amsterdam gives them the space to grow and cultivate a garden, and find time to slow down;
and Oishi, a DJ I saw at a night out and messaged on Instagram to shoot. It must have been fate because she received her official ADHD diagnosis the week before I reached out.
On the 31st of July I was invited to partake in a live podcast event held at Mediamatic as part of the Queer Superdiversity Show, hosted by Asia Hussain and Aynouk Tan. It was an honour and a privilege to be on a panel with trans icons Asifah Lahore, Kami Chouhdry and Kaneesha Nadal. Asifah spoke about authenticity in a way that will stick with meforever. This conversation will be available to listen soon.
Other things on the agenda: seeing art, reading at bakeries, learning about AI and surprisingly, crying with a stranger and reading her tarot. All reminders that life is good, life is big, and making art makes everything make sense x
p.s. My best friend from childhood who I have not seen in almost 10 years was in Amsterdam at the same time by chance. This is a pic of us the day we reunited <3<3
About the Artist
Nora Nord is a Norwegian interdisciplinary artist based in London. Working across mediums as varied as photography, moving images, podcasting and journalism, her creative practice is an extension of her outlook on life: playful and exploratory.
Nord has graduated in 2019 from CSM with an MA in fashion photography. However, her work focuses less on an interest in clothes and aesthetics, and it is more about a fierce curiosity about stories and characters. Her approach as a photographer is also often linked to a passion for advocacy and social justice.