Harmen Meinsma took to the camera as a teenager. Growing up in a small village in the province of Friesland where he lived with his grandmother, photography allowed him to celebrate unconventional beauty and with that carve out a place in the world for himself and his friends.

Harmen remains inspired by those who do not fit a conventional mould. He photographs people whose identity expression is not just a preference, but there is something at stake in being their true selves. This celebration of the wayward, the unique and the flamboyant continue to characterise his visual language. “In my work, I direct the spotlight to misfits and the birds of paradise in this world and I turn them into icons.”

Harmen Meinsma received his BA (Hons) degree from the Willem de Kooning academy in 2017, specializing in fine art photography. His images have been exhibited in New York during Photoville and the Kunsthal Rotterdam. Besides that, his images have been featured in FD Persoonlijk, NRC, Vogue Italia and Volkskrant Magazine. Harmen is currently based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.