Ian's world

“He was different from the start, he was first examined when he was 9 months old because he was not sleeping, he only slept when he sat with me and responded very intensely to everything. He was not a baby, he wanted to sit ... he was a little director. "Tells Tamara, Ian's mother. Ian is autistic. After years of constantly changing schools and the disgraceful treatment of her child (Ian was locked up in one of the schools and beaten) Tamara kept Ian home where she home schooled him from the age of twelve. Across the Netherlands, around 15,000 children, who need special education such as children with autism, are forced to stay at home because there is no good place for them. Ian and Tamara don't have easy lives. Ian’s intelligence has been and continues to be doubted, which is completely unjustified but which causes many problems. Authorities therefore want to force help and, according to them, he should live in a residential group. But Ian doesn't want to be in a living group at all, he wants to stay at home with his mother. In addition, a police officer, who never spoke to Tamara and Ian personally, made a false report to Veilig Thuis (Advice and Reporting Center for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse) at the direction of a neighbor with psychological problems. That report has never been withdrawn, so they are now known as a family that needs help. This gives both Ian and his mother a lot of stress. This report is false but filed and continues to exist. Because of this they constantly have to explain nothing is wrong. Ian turned 21 last December. Ian and Tamara have been living in the cozy but small and old second floor apartment in Amsterdam Oud West for almost fifteen years now surrounded by lots of books, clothing and art. However, there are far too many incentives here that make Ian almost sleepless and chronically tired. Involvement of incomprehensible neighbors causes a lot of extra stress. The result is that Ian rarely leaves the house. Sometimes not for months at a time. The forty-seven square meter is literally his world. But not a safe world. The sound that the many neighbors produce (intentionally or not) continuously penetrates the home. Finding another place it impossible. Financially it is difficult as well. Tamara is cut on her benefit because Ian is 21. It is expected that if you are 21 you have your own income and can therefore provide for your own maintenance. Which in Ians case is not realistic. For half a year I met Ian every two weeks to portray him. In the small apartment that is literally his world we worked together on a series of portraits. Because Ian has a very unconventional look with a very authentic and own sense of clothing and style, I asked him to think about what he wanted to look like before every shoot. Ian's world is a creative collaboration to show what his life looks like. Covid has not changed Ian's life much. Actually because the streets are less busy during lockdowns it is easier for him to leave the house.