Girls in Paris

2022

Girls in Paris centres on eight women living in Paris, each navigating questions of freedom, self-expression and sexuality in her own way. The project began after Dekker was commissioned to create a feminist calendar in France — an assignment that made him acutely aware of the contrast between France’s progressive image and the everyday reality many women experience, where personal expression is still questioned, judged or limited.

Rather than presenting a single message, the work gives space to the women themselves. The images move between confidence, vulnerability, playfulness and strength, allowing each subject to define her own presence. They are paired with fragments of language the women encounter in daily life — remarks, assumptions and criticism about how they look or behave — printed on transparent canvases that partially cover the photographs. Viewers are asked to read before they look.

Girls in Paris was presented as a solo exhibition at Josilda da Conceição Gallery, Amsterdam in 2022, and as part of Birds of Paradise at TORCH Gallery Amsterdam in 2025.

⭐ Review of the exhibition Girls in Paris at Josilda da Conceição Gallery on GalleryViewer: English / Dutch