Pieter Henket: Birds of Mexico City

These stunning and provocative black and white portraits of a new generation of gay, trans, and street performers in Mexico City taken by queer and fine art photographer Pieter Henket express the acute vulnerability and strength of their individual ways of breaking bonds that constrain their true identities.

Dutch photographer Pieter Henket's (born 1979) Birds of Mexico City is a collection of portraits created in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic. During Henket's extended time in Mexico City, he and stylist Chino Castilla fostered a collaborative creative environment where participants could gather, experiment and express themselves freely. The space became a vibrant meeting point for dancers, mask-makers, designers and performers - each engaging with the interplay between Mexico's deeply rooted cultural symbolism and the liberating possibilities of modern self-expression. Within this setting, Henket and Castilla worked closely with each participant to craft portraits that reflect both the tension and the harmony between inherited traditions and lived identity. The book is structured in three thematic parts: "The Divine Feminine," "The Masculine" and "Mexican Culture and Artifacts". Together, these sections offer a layered visual narrative tracing how contemporary Mexican youth engage with and reinterpret the cultural, spiritual and historical forces that shape them.

The book includes original poems written by the portrait subjects, developed in collaboration with and guided by Renata Juárez Huerdo.