LISA VAN KATWIJK

PARIS FACES is an archive of encounters from my year in Paris. In a city whose language I barely spoke, I often felt alone. Photography became my way of connecting with people.

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Between September 2024 and July 2025, I collected faces through street encounters and model castings. Most people I met during my daily route from Parmentier to République and through Le Marais. I knew I would find people there that I wanted to photograph.

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Often, I didn't know exactly what I was looking for. A posture, a gaze, an energy or an outfit could make me stop. Then I gathered the courage to approach that person. Nine out of ten times, they said yes.

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Most portraits were made within a few minutes. Afterwards, we exchanged Instagram accounts and continued our day. Many of the people I photographed are still in my life today, and some even became friends.

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Another part of PARIS FACES consists of models I cast myself. I chose faces that kept catching my attention, people I admired and wanted to photograph. Because we had more time together, there was space to experiment with different poses and locations. Still, I often returned to simple portraits.

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For my graduation exhibition, I revisited this archive. I made a new selection and edited the images again from where I stand today as a photographer. Some faces stayed with me and naturally returned.

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PARIS FACES became more than a collection of portraits. It became a reflection on a year in which loneliness slowly turned into connection.

The street is full of stories and faces. For me, it became a cure for loneliness.