PORTRAIT OF A LANDSCAPE 2012-2018
exhibition view, Botanique, Brussels 2022
How do we shape our image of the world? Do the abundant images available to us match up with those that are
the fruit of our direct experience? It was with this question
in mind that I came up with the idea of establishing a set of protocols aimed at synthesising all the landscape diversity of a territory.
After my initial research on Belgium (Lieux Communs / Gemeenplaatsen, 2010),
I spent 8 years looking at a highly picturesque and touristy country - Switzerland.
And while our memory of these places remains essentially marked by the most emblematic spaces - whether for their aesthetic
interest or their reputation - my artistic proposal aims not to neglect the interstices and the a priori unremarkable places.
I have chosen to explore the full diversity of the Swiss landscape on foot, walking 10 concentric routes from the borders to
the geographical centre of the country. Over a distance of more than 2,600km, in every season, I set myself the task of
shooting a one-minute video still after every kilometre I covered.
exhibition views, S AM (Basel, CH) / Ferme-Asile (Sion, CH)
The project, with its dizzying visual density, takes the form of a panoptic installation comprising 72 screens.
The experience is also extended in the form of a book that takes all the images and brings them to life using an optical
recognition application. Readers simply need to frame the pages of the book with their smartphone or tablet to access
over a thousand videos and a few dozen audio testimonies relating to specific places that the artist has visited.
audio testimonials relating to specific places that the artist has come across along the way. Reading the book becomes
a full-scale tour, a walk through the pages.
exhibition view, Kunstraum (Kreuzlingen, CH)