Young adults voices by Jaime López Cano

Team Credits

Casting and styling: Lis Rutten

Photographer: Jaime López Cano

Interviewer: Andrea Orejas

Models: Julie Hoekstra, Megin Inkania, Merel, Renze van Jaarsveld, Tabi Lehaam, Soraya Gunning, Robin Brans, Dillan Perukel

Styling assistants: Soraya Gunning, Heelin Altiner

Julie Hoekstra

“My name is Julie Hoekstra, I am 18 years old and I live in a small town in the north of the Netherlands. Pre Covid my life was pretty good and easy. I literally danced through life. Everything was fine; family, friends, school, dance and modelling. However, Covid turned the tables. Suddenly my life wasn’t for granted anymore. I felt really insecure and afraid about the health of my family and friends. My mother works in a hospital, so sometimes I was worried about she getting infected.

Also I felt a lot of insecurities about school. The Dutch government closed down all the schools, but I was supposed to graduate this year. For a long time, there was a big insecurity about how we were supposed to graduate. Suddenly everything was different.

However, now looking back on the whole situation I notice that I changed. Now I realise that everything in life comes as it is and it depends on you how you react to it. In the end, there are only a couple of things which really matters: your loved ones and your health.

After covid I learned that you don’t have to plan your future, because there is always something which influences your plans.

Now I hope that people really woke up through this situation. We’re able to rule the world in a lot of ways, but in the end, people are subjected to planet earth. I hope that people can see this now and take better care of themselves and the planet.”

Megin Inkania

“Hi I am Megin, I’m 20yo, currently studying at Amsterdam University, I’ve just finished my second course of Sciences Communication degree. I really love media and journalism and writing, health issues concern me a lot. I want to improve communication between people, that’s important .

I’m also into photography, after all this free time we had, I picked up the camera and shooted quite a lot and soon more with an analog one, I have been learning about history of photography and art to have some knowledge and study photographers that are important to know about, would like to shot models in the future. I still need a lot of practice but I hope to make a living out of that one day, thus I can buy a cute house with a garden to grow my own fruit and vegetables in. Also had a course about fashion politics and modern cultures. I grew up in a very creative family, have been surrounded buy art and music and theatre.

Sustainability is really important, we live in a world where we can buy any clothes we want ,all the food we want, all the products, in a really fast way and all the processes to arrive to that, are not ethical. These industries need more transparency to help us choose, in order to have control of what we eat, wear, etc, and we wouldn’t support what we don’t want. Sustainability is a solution to a lot of issues currently coexisting in the world.

We are in a process of upgrading our relationship with nature because we are living in a really crazy time, lots of people dying and suffering.

Nature began breathing better after having more consideration with one to each other. People working from home, less cars in the road, we are reshaping our relationship with nature and we must keep doing it.”

Tabi Laheem

“Being in Amsterdam after the quarantaine is cool. I am outside with my friends everyday. The only thing that sucks are all the tourists who are back in the city. Walking in Amsterdam when there were no tourists was great. During the quarantaine I took all my time to do research and make plans. Now that’s over I’m starting to practice and realise those. I will be making videos and getting better at it. Meanwhile I’m trying out new things a lot. I’m busy exploring different styles of music, movies and fashion. It helps me to advance myself and puts me in a mindset that will help me later on. I don’t like how everyone is following what everybody else is doing right now. Like people don’t really want to do things in their own way anymore. They just do what they see them other do. You see that in music a lot; that’s why I’m not really into the music that is coming out right now.”

Soraya Gunning

“I’m 26yo. I think right now what really moves me and how I am navigating through life, specially now post the quarantine, is really putting myself first. I lost my job due to the situation and I had to get creative to earn money, and a moment of pause happened to stop to think and just try to realice for I want to do. One of the things that came out of it is starting my own clothing line, I’m progressing into clothing, handmade crochet and knitting, I make bags, and planning to create more pieces. That’s a very positive thing that born after the quarantine, finding what I want to go for, and what i like, not looking for money as the first issue, looking for what I love, a passion that drives me, try to make my work from my passion, that’s who I am right now.”

Renze van Jaarsveld

“I’m 22yo, designing, marketing, being creative, my multitasking as the father of an Amsterdam born brand, La Fam. I wanted to build my own brand,with my ethics. I don’t like academic, didn’t have a cool time in high school, not because not being smart, I just think the educational system is not updated, they only value top jobs or however it is called; doctors, lawyers, etc, not giving value to what students really like.

Amsterdam is a good place where to grow from a child because you experience a lot of differents cultures and families with not very similar interests, that makes you learn a lot, but you don’t have many places where to play in the street and that is a bit uncomfortable also with the tourism working design the city has, talking from an uptown childhood experience, living very far from the centre, not feeling close to others. Now I don’t see many children playing and I know what they are missing, I feel them,

Politics in the Netherlands are great, stable, there are some things I dislike, obviously , some problems to be solved too, but if you look in a big spectrum, it is great here in comparison with other countries, the government have your back, care about population even if u are homeless, or have family struggles, or you live in other hard situations, it’s open minded.

I Love music, I’m down to listen anything, new or old fashioned, I love and support the artists. Mental health is really important, this generation doesn’t understand it, thinking technology, social media, gaming, junk food, don’t influence your mental health, that’s wrong, it indeed does and it’s very important. I encourage other people to learn about this, stop for one month, try it, focus on loving and learning from yourself, look at your life, is it better now? Keep learning.

I don’t support hard drugs, though living in this country ‘everyone’ have seen quite of everything, some people smoke weed everyday and gives them enough dopamine and they settle for laying in bed and just relaxing, ‘happy meals’ from drugs. It’s an easy way, and a new experience, but in a short and controlled way. Find your happiness in any other thing in life.”

Megin and Merel

“Merel, I am not worried about the Covid-19, but of course I am doubtful when visiting older relatives and people I care of.

In my opinion after the Situation in Amsterdam is almost like nothing happened, the streets are full of tourists again, there are minimal restrictions and I see everybody being close to each other.

Next year I will start my study Sciences Communication Degree. We were already informed that the whole first term will be completely from home, in a digital form, that means no physical lectures, no meeting and not really experiencing the real ‘student life’. I think this is such a shame, because I was really curious and looking forward to this new beginning.I think Covid will definitely be a huge topic in my career, something to discuss and write about, it made such an impact on our world, on Humanity and also on globalization.”

Dillan Perukel

“I am Dillan. I am 27yo and I live in Amsterdam. I want to have three kids, I would love to be a father! - if ever I grow up. My favorite rapper is Lord Snarf, he is the only rapper for me - He can freestyle like no other. I love dancing.”

Robin Brans

“I am Robin, I’m 18yo and I was born and raised in Amsterdam. I really love living here and hopefully I can stay here forever. I’m following my studies in Events Organization. After, I would love to keep studying Veterinary and become a vet.

I really care about animals. In my opinion the meat industry is very bad in Holland. Animals aren’t treated well whatsoever. They don’t have much space to live and they are harmed a lot. I hope people will be more open minded about vegetarian food options. And I hope that in the future there will not be so much animals suffering in the world and the industry.

When I’m done with my studies I would love to work with animals, and show people how lovely and smart they are. I also want to help animals in Holland and other countries where animals live in very bad circumstances.”

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Bio

Jaime López Cano (Spanish, b. 1998) is a photographer based between Madrid and London, working across many genres to explore the present and current state of fashion and people. His subjects are always photographed without filters in a deep honest look, he documents. He studied part of a Photography Degree in Madrid while contributing with Vogue Spain, T Magazine ES, i-D and other publications.