THE CLUB
PROJECT
In the ongoing project The Club Project (working title), I transform the dance floors of nightclubs into ‘my studio’. Photographing with a big four by five inch camera, I portray partygoers in the context of the nightclub and dance floor. By choosing a four by five inch camera - one that notoriously needs a lot of control and precision to produce an image - I tried to create a contrast between the camera and the context, control and chaos. This control is brought into relation with the subject - picked from the crowds of party goers - who is photographed in full stature and is asked to take on a calm and neutral pose, their eyes looking straight into the lens. Around the subject, the chaos of the club goes on, an uncontrolled melange of people dancing, kissing, screaming, laughing, talking, etc. The camera freezes it all in time producing a snapshot of unknowing partygoers in the background. By doing this I merge the studio portrait and the snapshot into one image in an attempt to display nightlife and clubs as a catalyst between (sub)culture and identity. Through photographing a variety of clubs, genres, ages, groups (and hopefully one day countries) I try to show the broad variety of what is essentially ‘dancing on music’ but in practice becomes an expression of cultural views and values. Through clothes, hairstyles, postures, interiors, club rules, gender expression and much more these differences become apparent.
All these elements synergise within the picture, complementing each other in a vicious cycle. At its peak this synergy results in an tableau vivant-like image that allows the viewer to ask themselves if they’re looking at a mise en scène, carefully constructed by the artist, or a cut out of a moment in time.
I plan on continuing this project throughout the 2020s’, extending it into a greater variety of clubs within Brussels and eventually other countries - thereby showing the spectrum of nightlife on an international scale. I wish to continue the project as soon as possible.
Exhibited at
Permanent display, Luca School Of Arts, Brussels
Solo Try-Out Show, De Tank, Invited by Blacklight collective, Bruges
Permanent installation in public space, acquired by Proximus, Ruisbroekgalerij, Brussels
Fabrik, Molens Van Orshoven, Leuven
