America is flawed – that’s no secret. Yet, what photographer Dana Lixenberg’s candid body of work reveals is that we cannot fully distance ourselves from its complexities. The contradictions and truths we treat as new revelations have long been embedded in US culture. From her intimate photographs of daily life in a Los Angeles housing project to her portraits of some of America’s most notorious figures, from P Diddy to Donald Trump, Lixenberg suggests that these realities were never truly hidden so much as persistently overlooked. To see them required only a shift in attention: a willingness to step outside ourselves and to confront what we have quietly ignored or chosen not to see. 

In her first major retrospective, American Images, which is currently on view at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Dutch photographer presents over three decades of work shaped by her time in the United States. Using a 4×5-inch view camera, she isolates her subjects from the distractions of social contexts. She deliberately confronts their humanity, revealing the dignity of the marginalised while exposing the vulnerabilities of the ‘elite’. 

In 1993, Lixenberg achieved her first major break when she photographed Tupac Shakur for the influential hip-hop magazine Vibe. In the now-iconic image, Tupac tilts his gaze slightly downward, revealing a quiet innocence that sharply contrasts with the “thug life” persona he was known for. In this stripped-down context, Lixenberg’s portraits offer an intimate way to understand and question the entrenched hierarchies that still shape American society. For instance, in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings, she began photographing residents in the Imperial Courts housing project in South Central LA, producing an ongoing series of portraits that moved beyond the one-dimensional media representations of poverty and violence. “I was interested in the people themselves,” she says, “looking beyond the sensationalism to make portraits that reflected both the humanity and charisma of the people I met.” 

The same ethos guided her work in Jeffersonville, Indiana, where, for several years, she photographed individuals seeking refuge from homelessness through Haven House Services. “I’m particularly invested in the power of a well-crafted image and its ability to shift viewers’ perceptions of a subject or community…or to create common understanding,” she says. 

Reflecting on the broader context of her work in the United States, Lixenberg adds, “My photos feel like pieces of a larger puzzle. Having travelled across the country and photographed diverse subjects and communities, I’ve come to understand better how everything is interconnected – from social and political complexities to the pervasive influence of celebrity culture.” Set against the spectacle of superiority and a sacred reverence for capital, she uses the nuanced language of portraiture to reveal the myth of the American dream, reminding us, through the simplicity of human emotion, that the pursuit of power is bound by certain limitations, however beyond-the-law some individuals may feel they are. 

“When I photographed now-disgraced figures like P Diddy, R Kelly, and Harvey Weinstein – whose portraits appear as part of a broader slideshow in the exhibition or in the polaroid presentation – most of their transgressions had yet to surface,” Lixenberg explains. Over time, these images have taken on new meaning, revealing how the seemingly invincible can fall from grace. Even her 1998 portrait of Trump standing awkwardly in a gilded room carries a different weight in light of his presidency. By setting aside the force of public persona, Lixenberg reveals the immense power we invest in individuals.

“For this reason, regardless of who I’m photographing,” she says, “it’s essential for me to approach each subject with respect. This principle remains true even when I photograph white supremacists or anti-abortionists. While I disagree with their views, my intention is never to demonise anyone… I simply aim to capture people living their truth, so that when they see their portrait, they recognise themselves."

Through Lixenberg’s intimate photographs, the still image becomes less a triumph over time than a quiet confrontation with it. What emerges from the faces she captures is the fragile, fleeting image of America itself. Regardless of wealth or power, she reveals, no one is invincible, and no myth or veneer can ultimately shield us. Under her camera’s lens, we are all exposed, and in the immediacy of the present moment, there is no more urgent message. 

American Images is running at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie until 24 May 2026.