Discovering My Colors

Discovering My Colors explores identity, ancestry and belonging through layered photography, family archives, self-portraits and poetry. A personal search becomes an invitation to reflect on the many histories within us and how we perceive others.

Camille Renée Devid

Who am I?
When I close my eyes, I feel Dutch.
But I don’t have blue eyes or blond hair
Surinamese blood runs through my veins,
yet I don’t speak the language.
I know the national anthem of Curaçao by heart,
but I was not born there.
So where do I belong?
Where do I come from?
And what do I feel?

These questions marked the beginning of Discovering My Colors, a photographic and poetic investigation into identity, memory and belonging.

Born in Amsterdam, raised partly in Curaçao, and carrying Surinamese roots through my father, I grew up connected to different cultures and places. But I often felt expected to belong to only one. In the Netherlands, I am frequently perceived as someone from elsewhere. In Curaçao, where I feel deeply at home, I am not always considered to belong.

What began as a personal search for identity gradually evolved into an exploration of the many histories, memories and relationships that shape who we are.

The project unfolds through three interconnected chapters.

The Dance of the Ancient Souls explores the invisible presence of ancestors and the ways their histories continue to resonate through generations. Through layered portraits, natural elements and fragmented imagery, I evoke memories, connections and traces of lives that came before mine.

The Foundation: An Ode to My Mother and Father turns towards the people who shaped me most directly. During the final months of my mother's life, I became deeply aware of the love and values she had passed on, and how profoundly they had shaped the person I had become. Through intimate Polaroid portraits of my mother and contrasting images of my father, I explore what we inherit from those who raise us and what we carry forward into our own lives.

Mapping the Invisible – Traces of DNA brings the investigation back to my own body. Inspired by a DNA test suggesting multiple ancestral origins, I created a series of self-portraits using symbolic colours and abstract imagery. Here, the body becomes a canvas on which visible and invisible histories meet.

My use of photographic layers reflects the way I experience identity: as a coexistence of cultures, memories and perspectives. Each layer contributes to the whole without erasing what came before.

Photography and poetry form parallel languages throughout the project, allowing me to explore both the visible and intangible dimensions of memory and belonging.

Through this research, I came to understand that the different parts of my identity do not compete with one another. They coexist, each contributing to the person I am today.

Nevertheless, the world around us often continues to define people through a single origin, nationality or appearance.

During my exhibition at Les Rencontres d'Arles in 2026, visitors shared their own experiences of identity and belonging. Some recognised themselves in the work, while others discovered a different way of looking at identity. These encounters showed me how photography can create space for recognition, reflection and conversation.

Through my own story, I invite others to reflect on the many layers of their own identity, and perhaps to reconsider how they see the people around them.

What began with the question “Where do I belong?” has become an invitation to reconsider what belonging means, not only for ourselves, but also for others.