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How do photographs shape our perception of the past? In the age of digital technology, what constitutes authenticity? How can identity emerge from both truth and fiction, absence and imagination? Sanders Coers, a Dutch photographer, reflects on these questions in his work POST, which explores the construction, transformation, and recreation of memory with refined aesthetics and a nostalgic atmosphere.

The series combines AI-generated images with archival family photographs to question the construction of memory—and, concurrently, masculinity—within visual culture.

As a child, Coers spent hours browsing through his grandparents’ photo albums, which revealed his grandfather's legacy and Indonesian roots. He wanted to connect more deeply with his grandfather’s past through the photographs, but the silence surrounding that history made it challenging to understand the complete story. To bridge this gap, he used MidJourney, an AI-based image-generating software, to expand his family history.

Coers trained the AI algorithm to generate new images based on his grandparents’ albums, spanning from the 1940s to the 1990s. The colors, landscapes, and clothing are reminiscent of the archival photos, yet every image is entirely fictional.

Cropping and collage-like compositions emphasize the constructed nature of the images and symbolize how our memories are similarly fragmented and rewritable. The project also highlights that memory itself, much like masculinity, is a construct—one that can be manipulated and fabricated. Recurring motifs in the generated images, such as suits, belts, and hats, illustrate the stereotypical visual traits of masculinity across different eras. The images were printed on veneer boards, a material commonly used in construction, which is traditionally considered a male-dominated field.

POST refers to both his grandfather’s ‘afterlife’ and the idea of post-photography, where images can be created without the use of a camera. AI-generated works, which capture the visual essence of the albums, combine with original archival photos to create a deeply intimate, melancholic, and nostalgic atmosphere. Despite being entirely fictional, this world feels real, allowing for the exploration of new narratives.

Sander Coers graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam in 2021. His work has been exhibited in Tokyo, London, Milan, Amsterdam, and Berlin, among others, and featured in The Guardian, Vogue, Die Zeit, and i-D magazines. In 2024, he was selected for the Foam Talent program, and in 2025, he was nominated for the C/O Berlin Talent Award.

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