For a Better Future

Whenever Densley Annastatia asks his mother why she moved from Curaçao to The Netherlands, she responds,
“for a better future.”

In 1989, his mother migrated from the island to Europe in search of greater academic opportunities. As a child of Caribbean diaspora, born and raised in The Netherlands, Annastatia has often felt caught between two identities
Even though The Netherlands is closest to what he would call home, he has always been aware of the distinct cultural differences he carries.
In this project, he explores his duality of culture and the feeling of belonging.

Cropping into his childhood photos, Annastatia discovered certain elements that shaped the narrative of his family’s migration to The Netherlands. Using this same method with Caribbean products or snacks, he tries to connect with that which reminds him of his Curaçaoan heritage. Visiting these toko’s is one of the moments when he feels the most in touch with this side of himself. It is the moment where he can speak the few words in his mother’s tongue to order that which he remembers from his childhood.

He engages with the estranged environment he experiences in The Netherlands by visualizing that which resembles the feeling of alienation he experiences there.