1 week ago
29
From naked embraces and sofa snogging to the very final stages of life, a new exhibition proves there is no one way to age
‘I was so drawn to them’ … Jeanie and Will kiss (from the series Senior Love Triangle by Isadora Kosofsky), 2011 Photograph: Isadora KosofskyWed 21 Jan 2026 08.00 CET
Diana Blok: Mother I, 1996
From a young age, we are confronted with misconceptions about ageing – but artists in a new exhibition are challenging these prevailing views. Of this image, photographer Diana Blok says: ‘As long as I remember, mother wore her pearl necklace with pride and elegance. I took this photograph, as she was undressing, after making a staged portrait of her. It reminds me that we are all but another pearl in the veins of time.’ Grey! Art on Ageing is at Museum van Bommel van Dam, Netherlands, from 24 January until 14 June 2026
Marrie Bot: Geliefden – Timeless Love, 2004
Marrie Bot: ‘I was 18, lying in bed, all of a sudden noises came from the attic where my parents slept. Frozen, I lay listening. My parents couldn’t be! Still, that’s how it sounded. They were doing “it”, making love, as it’s so nicely called. But my parents? I never saw them kiss each other … I felt a little ashamed of what I had heard. Never spoken of, but never forgotten’
Marrie Bot: Geliefden – Timeless Love, 2004
‘I was 35 and visiting my parents. My father, then 75, had just had a hernia operation. I asked how it had gone. He stood up, pulled up his shirt, unbuttoned his trousers and let them drop, underpants and all. “Well, like this,” he said, and pointed to the wound. I was confused. I had never seen my parents naked, and now this. I saw his intensely pale body. These memories made me think: why is it we find the thought of older people and sex so shocking? Why are we embarrassed when we see naked people over the age of 50?’
Isadora Kosofsky: Will administers insulin, as Jeanie watches (from the series Senior Love Triangle), 2012
Documentary photographer Isadora Kosofsky challenges existing social norms with her project Senior Love Triangle (2019). In it, she paints an intimate portrait of three octogenarians who have a complex, romantic love triangle as a shield against loneliness
Isadora Kosofsky: Adina, Will and Jeanie (from the series Senior Love Triangle), 2011
Isadora Kosofsky: ‘I began documenting Jeanie, Will and Adina early in my career in Los Angeles. I am particularly moved that Senior Love Triangle features in this exhibition that centres nuance, complexity and beauty as we age. There is no one way to age. Ageing is not a monolith’
Isadora Kosofsky: Jeanie and Will kiss (from the series Senior Love Triangle), 2011
‘I would not have expected that Jeanie and Will and Adina’s story would be continually retold for more than a decade and be seen by people all over the world. I began photographing them from a place of curiosity. I was so drawn to them. I had to know them’
Isadora Kosofsky: Jeanie eats ice cream separately (from the series Senior Love Triangle), 2012
‘I am struck that viewers feel a similar pull towards the three of them and that the photographs have continued to resonate. It has been insightful to see people’s reactions to the series over time; people are uncomfortable in moments’
Isadora Kosofsky: Jeanie and Will on the bed (from the series Senior Love Triangle), 2012
‘This trio challenges socio-cultural expectations about older adults in the US. The reality is that older people are sexual. They are romantic. Desire for connection does not change. Through shadowing older adults, I am continually reminded that the desire to be seen and understood is everlasting’
Lique Schoot: 42 Days with Hair Towels (2005-2025)
Lique Schoot: ‘In a world where everything revolves around appearance and perfection, I want to show myself in an honest way. In front of my camera, I can be completely myself. I can capture every moment, whenever and wherever I want, no matter how vulnerable’
Lique Schoot: Zelfportret 2005
‘In front of my camera, I can show moments that no one else could capture. It gives me complete freedom to be who I am. My real life is lived out in art’
Margriet Luyten: Chronos, 2012
The artist Margriet Luyten spent three years photographing the final stage in the life of her mother, who died at the age of 95. In gum bichromate prints, which impart a softness and fragility to the penetrating images, the observer is able to form an idea of the final phase of a human being. The photographer is able to get close to the ‘soul’ and close to death. We, as observers, cannot remain unaffected by the appearance of these images
Wen Hui: still from film Dance with Third Grandma, 2015
Wen Hui: ‘The body is that threshold we must cross in pursuit of the memories within. Our memories are experiences of the body. How can these experiences transform society as well as history?’Photograph: Li XinminExplore more on these topics
