I call him Vincent

I Call Him Vincent explores memory, imagination, and the quiet presence of someone who never existed.

As a child, I often imagined having a brother. Over time, that imagined companion became part of the way I understood the world. He accompanied me through moments of wonder, uncertainty, and solitude—not as someone who was real, but as someone whose absence quietly shaped my childhood.

Now, as I watch my two sons grow up together, I find myself returning to that imagined relationship. Their shared experiences remind me of something I longed for but never had. Rather than reconstructing the past, the photographs inhabit the space between memory and imagination, where absence can feel as tangible as presence.

Vincent never appears in these photographs. Yet he is everywhere. He exists in what is suggested rather than shown, in the moments that invite us to imagine what might have been. The project reflects on the stories we carry throughout our lives—not because they happened, but because they continue to shape who we become.

I call him Vincent, because Vincent was never there.

Also available: book “I call him Vicent”

“I Call Him Vincent” by Jurgen Onland is a distinctive artist book, produced with great attention to detail and material quality. With a limited edition of only 50 copies, each book is individually numbered from 1 to 50, making every copy a unique collectible. Get your copy of the book!