Pieter Henket's 'Birds of Mexico City' Celebrates Queer Youth and Tradition

Artist Pieter Henket's latest project, 'Birds of Mexico City,' is a portrait series and book published by Damiani that documents young Mexicans redefining gender, identity, tradition, and spirituality. Henket, a Dutch photographer, was inspired by hearing older generations dismiss young people and by his own experience as a closeted gay teenager in the Netherlands. The project evolved from his earlier encounters with expressive youth in New York City, whom he called 'Birds.' The book features collaborations with queer stylist Chino Castilla, writer and poet Renata Juárez Huerdo, and Filipino American Justin Gaspar, who helped shape the narrative. Costumes incorporate traditional Mexican garments and market finds, subverting masculine and feminine tropes. The first chapter, 'The Divine,' explores femininity, with images like 'Confinamiento' featuring a young woman with a brace inspired by Frida Kahlo, and 'La Mujer' showing a voluptuous figure in a lucha libre mask. Henket aims to honor tradition while allowing for new forms of self-expression. The book is available from Damiani Books.