Thuis, Home, Heimat by Miloushka Bokma

The Dutch director /photographer Miloushka Bokma was born in 1971 in Curacao, at age 3 she moved to the Netherlands, Amsterdam. Miloushka Bokma has since worked on her own projects in Holland and abroad. Her work is characterized by its strong narrative, always with a slightly absurd undertone. It’s a combination of the carefully planned and the totally unexpected. It often seems that something has just happened or is about to happen Like a still image from a larger story. Each item seems both odd and mundane, so that the familiar is made strange and the strange made uncannily familiar. It is her wonder about the contemporary world she try to capture in her images and video’s..

“The guiding principle of Thuis, Home, Heimat is the endless stream of photos of refugees that I see on a daily basis. Situations that touch me, a certain posture or face expression form images in my head that I put on scene on location. I have consciously chosen to work with Western people. By letting Western people figure in my work, I want to bring the refugee problem closer. This is not something that is far away and therefore does not concern us. This can happen to us all. Being displaced, losing and how you deal with this is a recurring theme in my work. I am interested in the common of emotions. That many experiences are universal, even if you experience them alone, is a comforting thought.”