I Went on a Holiday to the Country You Fled From

A unique artistic collaboration emerged from the friendship between photographer Iris Haverkamp Begemann and Mexican writer/activist Alejandra Ortiz. Their conversations revealed both parallels in their daily lives in Amsterdam and stark contrasts in their life experiences. When Iris booked a trip to Mexico, she felt a uncomfortable with how easily she could travel to a place Alejandra had been forced to flee. This tension became the foundation for a joint exploration: Iris traveled to Alejandra’s birthplace in Mexico to document the places she had to leave behind. The resulting series of images explores not only memory, loss, and transgender acceptance, but also the inequalities in freedom and safety between a Dutch cisgender white woman and a Mexican transgender woman of color.

Following instructions and a hand-drawn map from memory, Iris retraces Alejandra’s childhood in Salitral de Carrera, Mexico. Iris is welcomed into the remote community where Alejandra experienced both love and care, as well as extreme danger, marginalization, and rejection from her own family. The cinematic, earthy photographs stand in sharp contrast to Alejandra’s handwritten notes, which record the harsh realities of her upbringing.

This photo series weaves experiences of belonging and rejection into an intimate portrait of identity and the complex ways personal freedom is shaped. Beyond these personal narratives, the series also serves as an open invitation to reflect on the contradictions of our privileges--our ability to make choices about our lives and bodies--and our responsibility in perpetuating systemic inequalities that benefit some while posing life-threatening harm to others.