exhibition

Foam 3h:
ShuShu Sieberns
Young Human

Artist ShuShu Sieberns tries to create a bridge between two different worlds: one where queer identity and traditional Russian family values can coexist alongside each other. The exhibition Young Human serves as a sensitive exploration of the internal conflict that the artist experiences in the relationship between her deeply religious grandmother and her partner.

About the exhibition

The title, Young Human, is a direct translation from the Russian phrase ‘Molodoy Chelovek’, commonly used by young women to refer to their male partners. ShuShu Sieberns adopted this term to talk to her grandmother about her relationship with her non-binary partner. There is an ambiguity between how her grandmother interprets the word and how Sieberns uses the word. The exhibition is an emotional and personal reflection about queerness, intergenerational love and belonging in which the artist takes the viewer along in her personal journey.

ShuShu Sieberns is an artist who does not limit herself solely to photography: she uses film, photography, poetry and performance to convey her ideas. Her wide-ranging practice addresses the complexities of nationality and identity in today's global landscape. While her German-Russian heritage hints at broader political undertones, her focus remains introspective, centred on the human journey in search of defining your identity. In Young Human, she applies this multimedia approach by recreating the familiar atmosphere she always experienced at her grandmother’s house.

Woman looking in camera double exposure BW
See, through you, from the filmstrip series 36 Serendipities, 2021ShuShu Sieberns.
Two people naked kissing in a bedroom BW
Untitled, 2023ShuShu Sieberns.
Grandma on tree branch
Babushka, 2021ShuShu Sieberns.
Girl in front of church
Church of the Epiphany, from the series Motherlands – three faithful things, 2021ShuShu Sieberns / Photographed by and in collaboration with Edinlisa Go.

About the artist

ShuShu Sieberns (2000, Germany) is a multidisciplinary artist; her practice includes poetry, film, photography and performance. ShuShu graduated from the VAV Moving Image department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2023. Her work revolves around interhuman connections, creating odes, organizing poetry evenings and working on interdisciplinary projects. Her graduation work Young Human (2023) was nominated for the Sprouts Young Talent by SBK Kunstuitleen and shown at Eye Film Cinema, Amsterdam. Shushu took part in several performances in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, exhibited in NEVERNEVERLAND and created a play on grief called play Pallazzo Dellux(e) performed at Paradiso in Amsterdam.

About Foam 3h

Foam 3h is a project space in the museum where recently graduated artists and photographers are invited to present their first solo museum exhibition. For this space, Foam selects national and international artists who are challenged to experiment, surprise and push the limits of photography.

For more information or press requests, please see here or contact our press office at pressoffice@foam.org.

The exhibition is made possible by DLA Piper, the Van Bijlevelt Foundation, Mondriaan Fund, Kleurgamma and Oschatz Visuelle Medien.


Woman standing by a lake

explore connections

Foam 3h:
ShuShu Sieberns
Young Human