In Holding Out for a Hero, Régis Gonçalves explores the figure of the hero through personal queer stories. This hero does not necessarily appear as the prince on horseback from our fantasies. Sometimes, he is simply someone who enters our lives at just the right moment.

Kees tells the story of the man he fell deeply in love with during a skiing holiday in 1979. At the time, he was married to a woman and had two children. In his memory, Rik becomes the superhero who slays the dragon outside his castle and helps him come out.

Jan remembers a personal advert from 1984. A man from Schagen was looking for a travel companion for a trip to the South of France. Jan replied and went with him. “The world opened up for him.” Wim became the man who changed his life: SuperWim.

Régis brings these personal histories together with the recognisable visual language of the superhero. This creates a play between fantasy and reality, between waiting to be rescued and daring to step into a different life ourselves. Who, ultimately, is the hero in such a story? The one who slays the dragon? The one who sees us? Or the one who decides to show who he really is?

Holding Out for a Hero will be shown at Kunsthuis Waterland during Pride Purmerend 2026.