With 'Birds of Mexico City', Dutch fine art photographer Pieter Henket presents a compelling portrait series focusing on a new generation of young Mexicans who are redefining contemporary notions of identity, gender, tradition and spirituality. Published by Damiani Books, the volume brings together photographs Henket created over the past several years in Mexico City.
At the heart of the project are individuals navigating the space between cultural heritage and personal self-determination. Together with stylist and creative director Chino Castilla, Henket created a collaborative environment where artists, dancers, designers, mask-makers and performers could work and express themselves freely. The resulting images reveal a rich dialogue between deeply rooted Catholic traditions and contemporary forms of self-expression.
The costumes were developed in close collaboration with the participants themselves, translating personal histories, cultural references and lived experiences into carefully crafted photographic narratives. Accompanying texts by writer and poet Renata Juárez Huerdo give additional voice to the subjects, expanding the photographic work with a literary dimension.
Particularly striking is La Mujer, a portrait of Mexican artist Ixchel Paz. Presented unretouched and with complete self-confidence, the image offers a deliberate counterpoint to the highly curated beauty ideals often promoted through social media. Wearing a traditional lucha libre mask - a symbol historically associated with masculinity and spectacle - Paz transforms the motif into an exploration of vulnerability, self-determination and identity. As the artist explains: "For me, posing in front of a lens has always been a form of revolution… this photograph represents the dignity of all bodies and the right to show ourselves without fear."
Born in the Netherlands and now based in New York, Pieter Henket explores identity, presence and the narrative power of portraiture. His visual language draws inspiration from 17th-century Dutch painting, where light serves not only as a formal device but also as a carrier of meaning.
Henket first gained international recognition with his portrait of Lady Gaga for the cover of her debut album The Fame (2008). Among his major long-term projects is Congo Tales (2018), developed in close collaboration with local communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and featured on the front page of The New York Times Arts section. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Museum Barberini and Museum de Fundatie, and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Birds of Mexico City was designed by Odilon Coutarel. Inspired by Mexican modernist architecture - particularly the work of Luis Barragán - the book is conceived as an object in its own right: restrained, sculptural and full of visual energy. Through the careful interplay of photographs, texts and colour, the design creates a spatial narrative that guides readers through the project's diverse voices and perspectives.
'Birds of Mexico City' is published by Damiani Books. Works from the series are on view at Bildhalle Zurich from 12 June to 8 August 2026.
Texts by Renata Juárez Huerdo & Justin Gaspar
Foreword by Alberto Bustamante
Afterword by Hubert-Jan Henket
144 pages, hardcover. 21.5 × 28.7 cm
ISBN 978-88-6208-855-8