Dirk Braeckman /
with essays by Martin Germann, Dirk Lauwaert.
- Amsterdam : Roma Publications, 2011.
- 383 pages : B&W photographs ; 30 cm
Published in association with the exhibition "Dirk Braeckman," October 6, 2011 - January 8, 2012, at M - Museum Leuven, and Winter 2012 - Spring 2013 at de Appel arts centre, Amsterdam. Includes artist's chronology.
"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."