The Amsterdam’s Paradox: Beyond Polished Facades and Tourist Dreams
Amsterdam is a city steeped in history, with its residential facades exuding a sense of pristine elegance. Yet, during my initial days here, capturing the essence of its streets proved surprisingly elusive. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something felt amiss. That’s when it struck me – a deep-seated fear that my hometown of Ljubljana might also one day metamorphose into a gentrified, segregated, and spiritually vacant hipster and tourist haven. Ironically, the last vestige of unvarnished spirit could be found in the Red Light District. While photography was prohibited in that area, I shifted my focus to the denizens of Amsterdam’s broader city center. These are the individuals who toil in a city where they can scarcely afford to reside, as gentrification and social segregation loom large in this tourism-centric metropolis.
The Amsterdam's Paradox: Beyond Polished Facades and Tourist Dreams
by Voranc Vogel (Slovenia)
Voranc Vogel (1980) joined the team of photojournalists of Delo newspaper as a teenager, where he still works today. He began his photography education in the photo club of the Ledina High School, continued at the SPEOS Institute in Paris and over the years improved it in specialized workshops under the guidance of world-famous photojournalists such as Ron Haviv, Antonin Kratochvil (VII Photo Agency), Yuri. Kozyrev (NOOR) and David Hurn (Magnum). In 2008, he graduated in cultural studies and anthropology at the University of Primorska. For his photojournalistic work, he received two Slovenia Press Photo awards (2011, 2012) and three Watchdog awards (2014, 2018, 2020) of the Slovenian Association of Journalists. In 2021, he received the FIAP gold medal for the best photography: The World in 2020. He is the author of eleven solo exhibitions and co-author of numerous group exhibitions at home and abroad.