For a decade, Photo Brussels has been a beacon for photography enthusiasts, showcasing the very best of the art form in Belgium. But this year's festival is extra special, as it delves into the heartwarming and thought-provoking, with a focus on family, home, and the power of photography to preserve memories and spark understanding.
Imagine stepping into a cozy, mid-century time capsule at Hangar Gallery. That's exactly what Lee Shulman's exhibition, "The House," offers. It's a playful journey through found photography, featuring everyday moments captured on film. From holiday snaps to birthday parties, these images transport us to a different era, evoking a sense of nostalgia and curiosity.
But here's where it gets intriguing: Shulman's collection, "The Anonymous Project," is more than just a trip down memory lane. It's an artistic endeavor to give voice to forgotten stories and breathe life into old memories. Each image, sourced from secondhand websites and vintage slides, holds a unique tale, often revealing funny, surprising, or tender moments in people's lives.
And this is the part most people miss: the personal connection. Shulman confesses that these images resonate deeply with his own experiences of home life, evoking feelings of comfort, boredom, tension, and the desire to escape. "A home absorbs life," he says, "holding arguments, love, silence, and waiting. The memory remains in the walls."
Upstairs at Hangar Gallery, the focus shifts to family dynamics, with Brazilian photographer Danilo Zocatelli's powerful project, "Dear Father, I believe we found our peace." Zocatelli's journey is a moving tale of disconnection from a traditional, rural Brazilian upbringing, as a young gay man struggling to meet his father's expectations. But in a remarkable turn of events, Zocatelli persuades his father to participate in a project involving wigs and makeup, leading to an intimate connection and a realization of his father's love.
Across the border, French photographer Sylvie Bonnot takes us deep into French Guiana, meeting the local guardians of the Amazon rainforest. Her project, "The Kingdom of Mosquitoes," explores colonial memory and our relationship with the living world. Bonnot, herself a custodian of a Douglas pine forest in France, creates immersive, layered artworks, using a unique "moulting" technique to disrupt the fragile fabric of the photograph, creating a powerful metaphor for humanity's interference with nature.
As we venture beyond Hangar, the festival spreads across the city, with 52 exhibitions on display. At KlotzShows, a contemporary art gallery, the work of Daniel and Geo Fuchs takes center stage, initially appearing as a homage to Wes Anderson's distinctive aesthetic. But their project, "Stasi - Secret Rooms," reveals a disturbing reality: an inside look at the interrogation centers used by the East German Stasi secret police during the Cold War. For these artists, it's a deeply personal and captivating mission to preserve these places, capturing them in their own artistic style, like a time capsule.
In a powerful retrospective at Geopolis, photojournalist Oleksandr Glyadyelov presents an epic body of work documenting the realities of Ukrainian life over the decades, from economic turmoil to revolution and war. This extensive collection, on display outside Ukraine for the first time, offers a striking visual record of a nation's journey, with a focus on street children facing extreme poverty and social neglect in the 1990s. Glyadyelov's unflinching record of social transformation is a testament to his skill and dedication, and he continues to mentor photographers documenting the current phase of the war in Ukraine.
Photo Brussels festival runs until February 22, 2026, offering a unique and thought-provoking exploration of photography's power. What do you think? Does photography have the ability to preserve memories and spark understanding? Share your thoughts in the comments!
