SOFT EMPOWERMENT

Soft Empowerment is a collaborative art project by Van Peppen & Pinchuk exploring inner strength. Through portraits and conversation, the project asks what makes us feel strong — and what doesn’t. It’s a tribute to vulnerability as a form of power.

THE HERO IN YOU

The Hero in You is a deeply personal project about resilience and human connection. In collaboration with Ukrainian artists, I created a documentary, photo exhibition, and mirror installation — born out of the reception house where I work. The stories invite you to reflect, feel, and discover the hero within yourself.

CUT THE CRAP, BACK TO BASIC!

The smartphone is indispensable in our society. What initially started as a handy and perhaps even social gadget is evolving into a love-hate relationship for more and more people.

The constant need to be reachable brings pressure, and the continuous visibility leaves us with no place to hide. How consciously do we experience this, and what was it like in the pre-smartphone era? With the installation “Cut the Crap, Back to Basic!” I took you through the path of captivity to the experience of unburdened freedom (commissioned by Docfeed).

UNCUSTOMIZED

Project “Uncustomized,” commissioned by Breda Photo, edition 2018 with the theme “To Infinity and Beyond.” I was asked about my vision for the future. My response was that everyone would look the same. Even children in the Netherlands now have the same perfect teeth, and cosmetic procedures are not only becoming more affordable but also more widely accepted, perhaps even glorified. “Uncustomized” aimed to create an archive of the untouched human, while it still possible.

International War on Duckfaces (2016-PRESENT)

International War on Duckfaces is a response to how we portray ourselves on social media. Are we genuinely revealing our true selves, or are we projecting an image we believe others desire to see? Can we still stay authentic to ourselves? What’s inherently wrong with imperfection?

Beweeg me (Move me) (2015-2020)

In December 2015, I began a six-month artist residency at the Markiezenhof Museum in Bergen op Zoom. From my temporary studio in the museum, I was given free rein to think, create, and — above all — to be moved. That’s how the Impact Art Project Move Me was born.

It started with a longing: move me, touch me. I invited people to be photographed holding a personal object — something small enough to fit in their hand, yet carrying weight and meaning. Before every portrait, we talked. Behind each object lived a story, a feeling. And it was that feeling I tried to capture.

Though the official project ended in 2016, I continued working on it until 2020. What began as a residency became a time capsule — a quiet spotlight on the things that move us.