In each photo, Joyce Keasberry is standing in the center of her garden, in much the same spot. In summer she is surrounded by a sea of green and large pink flowers. The brown autumn leaves contrast with the lilac window frames. Winter makes the garden quiet. Then comes spring, when everything starts again. Although the composition remains the same, if you look longer you will see how time unfolds between the images.
Fall 2025
Winter 2025
Spring 2026
Photo Harmen Meinsma
The series Garden of Joyce forms a chapter in the many years of collaboration between photographer Harmen Meinsma (1991) and Joyce Keasberry (1940). They met in 2015 at the Rotterdam Binnenrotte market. Meinsma studied photography at the Willem de Kooning Academy at the time. He grew up in Friesland, where he lived with his grandmother. That’s why, he thinks, maybe he was more attracted to extravagant, older ladies. That’s how he met Keasberry.
Joyce in her garden, 2026
Photo Harmen Meinsma
For Keasberry, with her colorful clothing style and outspoken personality, it came as no surprise that she was approached by Meinsma. She invited him to dinner and their friendship grew into a long-lasting artistic collaboration. A year after their meeting at the market, Keasberry was central to Meinsma’s graduation work, flamboyantly photographed for a fashion series, with a large team of make-up artists, designers and assistants. The Kunsthal Rotterdam showed the series in 2021 My Dear Joyce.
Photos from the series My Dear Joyce, 2017
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Photos from the series My Dear Joyce, 2017
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Photos from the series My Dear Joyce, 2017
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Photos from the series My Dear Joyce, 2017
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Photos from the series My Dear Joyce, 2017
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Photography works like a mirror for Keasberry. “I have always been busy with selfies, in order to confront my body and aging.” Keasberry was born in Indonesia. From an early age she experienced a prudishness from which she wanted to break free.
Aged women who do not allow themselves to be pushed away by social expectations are Meinsma’s source of inspiration. “Where old age is often associated with invisibility, Joyce shows that you can become more and more yourself with age,” he says.
Joyce in her home, 2022
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Keasberry’s garden adds another layer. “My garden is my freedom,” she says. “In nature I can be whoever I want to be.” The big teams disappeared. The designer clothes made way for Keasberry’s own wardrobe, and she does her hair and makeup herself. In Garden of Joyce time shifts with the seasons, while Joyce remains standing in the same spot, small among the lush greenery, but impossible to miss.
Joyce looking out her window, 2023
Photo Harmen Meinsma
Work by Harmen Meinsma, including from the series My dear Joyce, can be seen in the exhibition Nieuw Oud! in the Museum of the Spirit in Haarlem