Dirk Braeckman

10.01.04 - 05 © Dirk Braeckman - Courtesy of Zeno X Gallery Antwerpen

In each of his monumental photographic works, Dirk Braeckman (Eeklo, °1958) creates an enclosed, isolated world that nevertheless appears, as a result of its tactility, to be infinite and gives short shrift to the illusions of the photographic medium. These images do not intend to tell a story and yet they are suggestive of complete narratives. His photos leave the moment of the shot far behind and reach beyond their frames.
 
Dirk Braeckman began his career as a (self) portrait photographer, but later consciously turned away from portrait photography. Braeckman finds the subjects for his photographic works in his immediate environment and he has a preference for places or spaces, particularly interiors. The undertone of his work thus remains autobiographical.

In his monumental photographic works, he creates an enclosed and isolated world. Braeckman’s images are neither clinically observational nor anecdotal. The images stand alone. The tactility of his work is highly unusual for the photographic medium and gives short shrift to the illusions of the medium. We see the different textures, materials and holders the artist experiments with.

He investigates effects such as over- and under-exposure and printing methods. For many years, Dirk Braeckman worked only with analogue photography that he developed himself in his darkroom. Recently, he has started exploring the digital medium. This new method introduced new subjects into his work, such as close-ups of landscapes.

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Dirk Braeckman is one of the most prominent Belgian artists of the moment. He has exhibited his works in various solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally.

The exhibition at M presents a selective overview of his extensive oeuvre from the past 25 years and juxtaposes it with a number of new, digital photos.

Links

Website Dirk Braeckman