Hellen van Meene (1972) is regarded as one of the leading Dutch photographers of her generation and is well-known for her portraits of boys and girls on the cusp of adulthood. Achimenes is part of a recent series in which Van Meene depicts girls' faces covered entirely by curtains of sleek hair brushed forward to conceal any expression or facial identification. In contrast to earlier works, where the details of bodies and faces are laid bare, our gaze is here denied. Following Martin Barnes's interpretation (Senior Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum) these characters can be read as being either overwhelmed and hidden by their personal accoutrements and domestic spaces, or empowered by being disguised and impenetrable. The absurdity and near-visibility of the female figure seem to call attention to how women have often been unjustly consigned to obscurity within the domestic interior, marginalized and even ignored.