2020: The Year Of No Big Plans
What art is? - a question we ponder on in this interview. Photo manipulation comes as an additional process which enables to create new layers of presentation and augment the perception of emotions in the image. We encounter a vast body of work, printed in black and white using a gelatin silver print process in Thomas Vandenberghe’s photography. His main research is about still-life, mainly flowers, and through the investigation of women's bodies, the form, and the beyond.
Thomas exhibited his work throughout European cities and has seven print books, with his latest HET IS DAN GENOEG GEWEEST. He touches on the boundary between still images and the moving image when showcasing his work.
Thomas Vandenberghe is a photographer from Belgium. Thomas started his career working in a one-hour service photo lab ten years ago. This experience became critical to Thomas’ development as a photographer pursuing a distinct perception. The realization of the impact authentic emotions, documentary approach and a physical image have on the viewer became an imperative component of his work. We discuss with Thomas - print, the development process in the darkroom, and his fascination with the topic of flowers. We speak about his first camera, Canon AE-1, and the decision to open No/ gallery, concluding our conversation with news about the birth of his baby girl, we congratulate Thomas with.
Co founder of NO/ gallery
‘I quit my job ten years ago. I worked for four years as an educator, but I wanted to do something with photography. Then I started working at a one-hour service photo lab. People don’t know there is always someone looking at the pictures.’
I Am
Hi Thomas, such a pleasure to have you in our magazine. 2020 has changed a lot of plans. How is it going for you?
2020: The year of not making big plans anymore.
Let’s go back to the beginning, how did it all start?
It all started with my mother's Canon AE-1 (which I still have). I used to take pictures of my friend and the tricks we did with our BMX at the age of 14 with this camera. Later it restarted with a Polaroid SX-70 I got for my first girlfriend; I photographed her and my surroundings in a naïve manner. Through the images, she became a muse, and the image virus got into my blood. After many books and exhibitions, I began to see the value of photography as a way of communication and processing things in our psyche.
What was the most critical occurrence, which led you to decide photography is going to be your profession?
I quit my job ten years ago. I worked for four years as an educator, but I wanted to do something with photography. Then I started working at a one-hour service photo lab. People don’t know there is always someone looking at the pictures, they usually think it’s just a machine that does it. They were not meant for other people’s eyes, yet that was my biggest inspiration for starting diary photography. The things I saw in the photo lab were not meant to be seen by others. Yet they are the best pictures I’ve ever seen in my life, better than any exhibition. People don’t know when they have good images with a lot of feelings. They are private pictures, so I just got very lucky to have seen them.
That's where the love for 'the snapshot' started.
‘Many photographers these days forget that the physical print of a photo has more psychological value. In other words, images on the net fill my toilet moments.’
Photography
The visual world is growing exponentially mostly due to the internet and social platforms. The medium of photography became more accessible, and we can see its rise with bloggers, online advertising, visual communication on Pinterest, Instagram, etc., not speaking of personal images. What would you name as some crucial mistakes in photography that easily draw the line between photography as art and photography as a supporting element?
This is a difficult matter.
First of all, art is something very subjective. So where do we draw the line of what belongs to art photography? Starting from my roots working at the photo lab where I got very much inspired by the so-called amateur 'snapshots' - so my love and preference arose for the 'not picture-perfect,' but for images with emotions and meaning. For me, the pictures at the photo lab, not intended for my eyes, were art.
I like the fact that the digital world gives us the opportunity to discover and connect with people. Even communicate through images like in Instagram, etc. My preference is a photograph as a matter: the printed picture for an exhibition or the one on the fridge. For me personally, a picture is worth nothing without being printed on paper. Even here, it can go from a work of art to a print in books, magazines, family albums… Many photographers these days forget that the physical print of a photo has more psychological value. In other words, images on the net fill my toilet moments. The physical print in books and shows are the images that touch me.
‘Print on paper can take any shape, be torn, have burning marks, be cut and pasted, you name it.’
The Print
The photographs you present on the site are physically manipulated: folded, scratched, drawn on, torn, glued. Print and scan allow adding meta-layer to photography, a layer that is even more personal to the creator. What are the experiments you like to do with prints?
A print can be touched, passed around, looked at, and written on. Print on paper can take any shape, be torn, have burning marks, be cut and pasted, you name it. Every picture has its own scale and choice of paper.
What do you strive to achieve?
From printing to processing and compilation - it's done instinctively and according to the current mood. The physical print remains the basis of my work. Anything could happen once it's on the paper.
‘The darkroom remains a magical place for me. The chemical process causes many coincidences and surprises, even these days.’
Black Room
You speak about the physicality of an image and the printing process. What fascinates you in the development process and work in the darkroom?
The darkroom remains a magical place for me. The chemical process causes many coincidences and surprises, even these days. Eight years ago, I set up my first darkroom. After a short explanation from an experienced printer, I didn't feel like printing another one myself ever. The darkroom remained untouched for months. By letting go of the pursuit of the perfect print, coincidental discoveries, allowing what was really NOT DONE, I came to my familiar way of printing and experimenting. I stopped caring about perfecting techniques in my own work; instead, I focused on symptomatic intimacy and delicacy of it all.
Flowers
A lot of your images are flowers. The cycle of life, the living versus the withering - what is your take on the research that is constantly developing from shooting flowers?
Flowers are the easiest and most portrayed subject through art history. First of all, who doesn't like flowers? I like the simplicity of the subject. Flowers can be found everywhere, in every shape and form. Visually, they continue to amaze me and are a rewarding subject. On the other hand, flowers and plants have a deeper meaning that can be linked with characteristics and human traits through psychology.
What emotions do you think would be lacking or added if the images were in color rather than silver gelatin prints?
I prefer black and white because the chemical process is a little bit more accessible. These days, I'm experimenting with my colour prints with open strays like the black and white process. Also, I don't see any difference between a colour print and a black and white print. For me, the darkroom prints are full of colour and tones.
‘People we invite to exhibit with us are usually friends, people we know through photography or people whose work we appreciate very much.’
NO/ gallery
Tell about NO/ gallery, curated by you and Sybren Vanoverberghe since 2018. What was the main drive to open this space?
NO/ gallery started as a joke. When Sybren, his former girlfriend, and I were looking for a house to live in together, we found the “NO house”. In the front: a large studio and a glass showcase that had once served as a shop window. "Let's start a gallery next to our studio" - No/ gallery was a fact.
What type of artists do you show in the gallery?
People we invite to exhibit with us are usually friends, people we know through photography or people whose work we appreciate very much. The vision we work with is photography as a starting point. The not so stiff atmosphere makes the house a place of gathering for photography minded people, collectors, and casual passers-by. NO/ gallery is more like an open Atelier and a house, a gallery run by artists for artists. It's not one main core. And that is our key.
Upcoming Projects
What are your plans for this year? What are you working on right now?
No major plans are being made here at the moment, like with many people in these uncertain times.
The birth of our brand-new monkey is currently a full-time activity. So at the moment, I am alternating between being a brand new daddy and preparing a new solo exhibition.
