Senior Love Triangle: Exhibition Redefines Ageing Through Intimate Photography
A powerful new exhibition in the Netherlands is challenging deeply ingrained societal misconceptions about ageing through a collection of intimate and thought-provoking photographic works. Grey! Art on Ageing at Museum van Bommel van Dam presents a radical reimagining of what it means to grow older, showcasing everything from naked embraces and sofa snogging to the very final stages of life.
Challenging Societal Norms Through Art
From a young age, we are confronted with misconceptions about ageing, but the artists featured in this groundbreaking exhibition are actively challenging these prevailing views. The collection proves definitively that there is no single way to age, presenting ageing as a nuanced, complex, and beautiful journey rather than a monolithic experience.
Photographer Diana Blok contributes a poignant image titled Mother I, 1996, capturing her mother undressing after a staged portrait session. "As long as I remember, mother wore her pearl necklace with pride and elegance," Blok explains. "This photograph reminds me that we are all but another pearl in the veins of time."
Intimate Portraits of Senior Relationships
One of the exhibition's most compelling features is documentary photographer Isadora Kosofsky's Senior Love Triangle series, which paints an intimate portrait of three octogenarians navigating a complex romantic relationship as a shield against loneliness.
"I began documenting Jeanie, Will and Adina early in my career in Los Angeles," Kosofsky reveals. "I was so drawn to them. I had to know them. This trio challenges socio-cultural expectations about older adults. The reality is that older people are sexual. They are romantic. Desire for connection does not change."
The series includes tender moments like Jeanie and Will kissing, Will administering insulin as Jeanie watches, and intimate bedroom scenes that confront viewers with the reality of senior sexuality and companionship.
Confronting Taboos About Ageing and Intimacy
Artist Marrie Bot addresses society's discomfort with ageing and intimacy through her work Geliefden – Timeless Love, 2004. She shares childhood memories of hearing her parents making love and later witnessing her father's naked body after surgery, questioning why we find the thought of older people and sex so shocking.
"Why are we embarrassed when we see naked people over the age of 50?" Bot asks through her art, challenging viewers to examine their own prejudices about ageing and physical intimacy.
Vulnerability and the Final Stages of Life
The exhibition also explores vulnerability and mortality through works like Lique Schoot's 42 Days with Hair Towels (2005-2025), where the artist captures herself in honest, vulnerable moments. "In a world where everything revolves around appearance and perfection, I want to show myself in an honest way," Schoot explains.
Perhaps most poignant is Margriet Luyten's Chronos, 2012, a series documenting the final three years of her mother's life before she died at age 95. Using gum bichromate prints that impart softness and fragility to the images, Luyten brings observers close to the soul and close to death in a way that cannot leave viewers unaffected.
A Global Conversation About Ageing
Chinese artist Wen Hui contributes a still from her film Dance with Third Grandma, 2015, asking: "How can these experiences transform society as well as history?" This question resonates throughout the exhibition, which has sparked international conversation about how we perceive and treat older adults.
Kosofsky reflects on the enduring impact of her Senior Love Triangle series: "I would not have expected that Jeanie and Will and Adina's story would be continually retold for more than a decade and be seen by people all over the world. It has been insightful to see people's reactions to the series over time; people are uncomfortable in moments."
Grey! Art on Ageing runs at Museum van Bommel van Dam in the Netherlands from 24 January until 14 June 2026, offering visitors a transformative perspective on what it means to grow older in today's society.
