Narratives of the presumed invissible

Most people, including philosophers and scientists, agree that man is an insignificant creature in the cosmos. Small in the big world. Small in the vastness of nature. This idea is also expressed in the photography of Kristof Vrancken (1982). In his photos Vrancken shows us desolate places: a deserted camp site, a disused building that has been vandalised, an industrial ruin, or a dismal pool in the woods.

In these images man is a mere detail, but frequently not an unimportant one. At times however, man is just one detail like all the other details in his photography. On a first informal approach the photos appear to be fairly banal, and often have a fairytale quality about them.

However, on closer inspection we discover apparently unimportant elements and details which nevertheless play a defining role in the image. He then makes us think to help us to interpret what we see. In looking at his photos we not only think about the role of man in his image, but also look further, in the world around us, at man who needs this world and yet continues to voice his dissatisfaction with it.

Details literally bubble up out of Kristof Vrancken's photos. It is only through the details that he manages to question the world around us so wonderfully well. His questions regarding man's behaviour are biting, uncensored and harsh. This leads to a hard confrontation with the fact that for once questions and answers are as unimportant as they are important.
Kristof Vrancken's work is also full of contrasts. The most obvious is man's insignificance compared
to the great natural world. However, nature versus culture, fairytales versus harsh reality, beauty versus ugliness, public versus private are some of the contrasts that Kristof Vrancken plays with in his work. - Katelijne Beerten

Specifications: 

date: 2005-2013

c-print, dibond 3mm 

150 cm X 100 cm