After a long and successful career as a commercial photographer, Ron de Rooij decided to take on a new challenge. Inspired by his interest in people from all walks of life and backgrounds, he took to the streets, where he quickly discovered that the diversity he had grown to appreciate during his many travels could be found on every corner of his own city, The Hague, as well as in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. All it required was a willingness to be open to it.
The result is a large collection of high-quality street portraits, with the individual at the centre of each image. These are not covertly taken photos but portraits that were willingly granted: honest, open, and unembellished. For Ron, the encounter itself takes precedence, driven by his genuine curiosity and interest in each person he meets.
While Mens Decor Stad is filled from cover to cover with portraits of the most remarkable, unique, striking, humorous, and endearing individuals, it also serves as a portrait of the time they live in. After all, no individual exists in a vacuum. In the background, we see reflections of significant social events from recent years — a time of societal upheaval, marked by polarisation, unrest, protests, and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, which further intensified every tension.
