'Mediterranean. The Continuity of Man'. For this show Nick Hannes focuses on migration, urbanisation and mass tourism. For 'Dzogchen' Vincent Delbrouck immersed himself in Buddhist philosophy.
Nick Hannes
Mediterranean. The Continuity of Man
'The Pacific may have the most changeless ageless aspect of any ocean, but the Mediterranean Sea celebrates the continuity of Man.' (Ernle Badford)
Over the past five years, Nick Hannes (BE, °1974) has visited twenty countries located around the Mediterranean. He witnessed an unprecedented period of turmoil for the region: southern Europe buckling under the weight of the global economic crisis, Arab countries entangled in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and tourists and migrants encountering each other on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea.
Nick Hannes shows us a region bursting with humour and tragedy. Unified under the Roman Empire two thousand years ago, today the Mediterranean is a battleground. With Mediterranean: The Continuity of Man, Nick Hannes focuses on contemporary topics such as migration, urbanisation and mass tourism. His distinctive documentary style embraces the complexity of the region, transcends the anecdotal and explores the relationships that bind these societies together.
Following on the FoMu exhibition of Hannes’ journey through the former Soviet Union (Red Journey), the museum presents Mediterranean: The Continuity of Man, a kaleidoscopic portrait of a region in transition.
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Vincent Delbrouck
Dzogchen
For the third consecutive year, FoMu is providing a platform for young Belgian photographers. Vincent Delbrouck (BE, 1975) presents his latest project Dzogchen which chronicles several journeys he made to Nepal between 2009 and 2014. While there, Delbrouck immersed himself in Buddhist philosophy and allowed the environment to dictate his imagery.
“Dzogchen” is a Buddhist philosophical term that refers to a particular vision of reality. Dzogchen practice teaches us to accept reality as it really is: beautiful and ugly, good and bad, black and white. For this photography project, Vincent Delbrouck lets himself be guided by this vision as well as by his love of nature and literature.
To Delbrouck, the entire process, from taking the pictures to exhibiting them and publishing them in book form, is an internal journey. This journey both feeds him and pushes him into the unknown; it’s a leap in the dark that merges environments, people and photography. Delbrouck’s photographic work is, therefore, never static: each project is composed from the perspective of the person he was at the time.
The Dzogchen series is a poetic reflection on a Buddhist region. It is also an ode to beauty itself and a plea for a world without discrimination. As the Beat poet Gary Snyder puts it: “Roots, stems, and branches are all equally scratchy. No hierarchy, no equality. No occult and esoteric, no gifted kids and slow achievers. No wild and tame, no bound or free, no natural and artificial. Each totally its own frail self.”
Press Contatc:
Isabelle Willems, isabelle.willems@fomu.be
Opening:thursday 27 november 2014
FoMu - FotoMuseum Provincie Antwerpen
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2000 Antwerpen
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