What began as an observation of the voids between white buildings gradually shifts into an
investigation of whiteness as a concept. White no longer manifests merely as form or surface, but as
action: to protect, to conceal, to erase. In this advancing abstraction emerges the notion of whiteness
as a boundary—a point at which intensity tips into loss. White heat. Just as the melting of the polar
ice caps makes the disappearance of ice palpable, so here the boundary of whiteness becomes
tangible: a transition from presence to absence, from concentration to dissolution. Just as the Earth,
under increasing heat, vaporizes what once seemed solid, whiteness becomes a metaphor for a
tipping point where preservation turns into disappearance.
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Paul D’Haese lives and works in Ternat, near Brussels. He participated in numerous photographic projects and collaborated in publications of “Jaarboek Architectuur” (VAI).
He has exhibited on numerous occasions, including G.C. De Markten, the KVS, the Kaaitheater, Contretype, Hangar Art Center in Brussels, as well as the Cultural Center of Hasselt and Artistic Platform Zebrastraat in Ghent. He received in 1998 the Award of the Unesco’s friends as part of the 12th National Award of Photography, Museum of Photography in Charleroi. His photographs are in the collections of the museum and those of the Province of Flemish Brabant.
UNE SEULE MONTAGNE is an exhibition presenting the work of photographer
Alexandre Christiaens. The exhibition provides insight into the photographer’s practice over the last few decades and brings together work from his extensive oeuvre.
Gallery IMAGINAIR Art/space developed a scenography inspired by the photographer’s focus on matter, elements and natural materials.
The photographic images are supported by spatial elements, such as a bench made of burned wood, a sculptural piece of furniture made of marble or bluestone remnants or a playful object in marble or aluminium.
All design objects and sculptures are created by the selection of Belgium-based designers with whom IMAGINAIR works throughout the season.
PART OF Photo Brussels Festival
In collaboration with Bruno Devos / HOPPER&FUCHS
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE – With two epicentres on either side, it is only logical that we always explore America horizontally. There is an East and a West, and in between lies a gigantic patchwork of states. Somewhere in the middle shows us an America that borders on the absurd. A dinosaur that looks like papier-mâché. A medieval castle that turns out to be a Chinese restaurant.
Everything is a miniature or enlargement of the original. Van Assche shows us the America where anything is possible. “This is the American dream, baby,” say the inhabitants. To your great surprise, no one extols and criticises the American Dream more than those who live it.
LUCKY – Yakutia is Russia’s treasure trove. According to a Siberian legend, God scattered a bag full of treasures across this vast area. Beneath the layer of permafrost lie enormous reserves of coal, gas, gold and diamonds.
The photographer spent several months in the mining town of Udachny,
on the edge of a gigantic diamond mine.
Hanne Van Assche (born 1995) holds a master’s degree in photography
(Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent (KASK).
Her work has been published in De Standaard, NRC,
The New York Times, among others.
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Nothing but premieres from the collective at BADAFF.
Thanks to everyone who came and gave us such enthusiastic feedback!