PORTFOLIO - DANA RUIJS
Dana Ruijs (b. 1995,The Netherlands) is a socially involved photographer, interested in documenting unique and personal stories. In her long-term, photographic observations, Ruijs first establishes a tight bond with the subject, after which she creates a narrative that is a mix of facts and personal experiences.
In her project ‘Een van de twee’ (‘One of the two’), Ruijs tells a story about two identical twins, Puck and Guusje. Ruijs has been following their lives from the moment they turned fourteen. What fascinates her is how similar the two sisters are - not only do they look alike, but also their interests are very similar. “The special thing about Puck and Guusje is that they have a very strong understanding of each other”, she says. “They only have to look into each other's eyes and immediately understand what the other means.” Ruijs wants to continue photographing the twins as they step into adulthood and make decisions about their future.
Her second project ‘Veel aan het hoofd’ (‘A lot on my mind’), derived from documenting her father’s illness. Hiding behind the camera, turned out to be a way for Ruijs to deal with the emotionally draining situation. Due to the enormous stress, amongst others; the mother’s hair turned grey, Ruijs’s hair started to fall out, not to mention her father - whose hair got significantly thinned due to a strong chemotherapy. After his passing, all family members, including the brother, cut their hair. Both women, decided to donate their long hair to someone in need of a hairpiece. The ritual of cutting the hair was for all three, a way to start a new life, a life without their beloved father and husband.
Ruijs is currently working on a new project that is tracing and documenting the hair donors as well as the new hair owners. The project will result in a publication, in order to open up a discussion on hair donation, motivating people to do it more often.