BLISS: A CELEBRATION OF YOUTH CULTURE IN THE CAPITAL (2021) Photography exhibition by Félice Knol
‘It is an important time, a revival of collective happiness, making up for the time we have been stuck inside. Some in difficult domestic situations; it is for those who find peace in their chosen family, rather than the one into which they have been born.’
This project amplifies the voices of London City’s youth, after a time of silence. It is focused on the rebirth and recurring of collective energy and joy. Musicians, actors, performers and artists are out again, ready to be seen. It is a crucial time for young people to meet like-minded spirits and to be able to express themselves freely. Ways of dressing and make-up are also means of communication, and a form of art. Big boots, big hair, big gestures: explicit and outspoken.
In her analog photography Félice Knol tries to translate this feeling: a capturing of the times in this diverse city. A capturing of beautiful, important individuals, who may have not always been heard, and seen. Youth is the future: their dreams, optimism and guts. This project is about -and for- those who have felt left out, and are ready to again show themselves to the world.
Félice Knol (1998) has always been fascinated by human interaction and social behavior, themes that she often includes in her artistic practice. While studying Sociology at the University of Amsterdam this interest got fueled and grew. We are born into different unequal systems, which shape the world around us. Interaction and physical, real-life contact have been proven to be a gateway to empathy, and are essential in finding common ground and mutual understanding. This belief has laid the foundations of this project: it is a manifestation, and celebration, of reconnecting energy.
