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Bieke Depoorter

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Belgian photographer

Bieke Depoorter (born 1986) is a Belgian photographer. The relationships she establishes with her subjects lie at the foundation of her practice. Depoorter is a member of Magnum Photos and has published the books Ou Menya (2011), I am About to Call it a Day (2014), As it May Be (2017), Mumkin. Est-ce possible? (2018), Sète#15 (2015), and Agata (2021). She has won the Magnum Expression Award, The Larry Sultan Award, and the Prix Levallois. She was one of four photographers shortlisted for the 2022 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

Early life and education

Depoorter was born in Belgium. She received a master's degree in photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent in 2009.

Life and work

The relationships Depoorter establishes with the subjects of her photographs lie at the foundation of her artistic practice. Accidental encounters are the starting point, and how these interactions naturally develop dictates the nature of Depoorter's work. Many of her self-initiated projects are about intimate situations in families and in peoples' homes. For her graduation project and her first book, Ou Menya (2011), she made three trips to Russia, photographing people in their homes that she met whilst travelling around. The series won the 2009 Magnum Expression Award. Depoorter made the work for her second book, I am About to Call it a Day (2014) in a similar way whilst hitchhiking and driving around the U.S.A.

However several recent projects have been the result of Depoorter questioning the medium. In As it May Be, she gradually became more aware of her status as an outsider, both culturally and as a photographer. So, in 2017, she revisited Egypt with the first draft of the book, inviting people to write comments directly onto the photographs. In Sète#15, and also Dvalemodus, a short film she co-directed together with Mattias De Craene, she began to see her subjects as actors. Although she portrayed them in their true environments, she tried to project her own story onto the scenes, fictionalizing the realities of her subjects in a way that blurred the lines between their world and hers.

In Agata, a project about a young woman Depoorter met at a striptease bar in Paris in October 2017, she explores her interest in collaborative portraiture. It is an example of Depoorter's interest in finding people that can work with her in telling a story. These stories are always partially hers, and partially theirs.

Depoorter became a nominee member of Magnum Photos in 2012, an associate member in 2014, and a full member in 2016.

Depoorter directed a music video for Bolis Pupul's song "Completely Half" from his debut album Letter to Yu. The song and video were released on 29 November 2023.

Personal life

Depoorter lives in the Muide neighborhood of Ghent with her boyfriend Boris Zeebroek, better known as the musician Bolis Pupul.

Publications

  • Ou Menya. Tielt: Lannoo, 2011. ISBN 9789020992137. Text in English, Dutch and French by Paul Demets, translation by Michael Lomax.
  • I am About to Call it a Day. Zurich: Edition Patrick Frey, 2014. ISBN 9783905929690. With text by Maarten Dings.
  • As It May Be. Lichtervelde: Uitgeverij Hannibal, 2017. ISBN 9789492677174. With text by Ruth Vandewalle.
    • New York: Aperture, 2018. With text by Ruth Vandewalle.
  • Mumkin. Est-ce possible?. Paris: Xavier Barral, 2018. With text by Vandewalle. ISBN 978-2-36511-164-5.
  • Sète#15. Le bec en l'air, 2015. ISBN 978-2-36744-079-8. With text by Christian Caujolle. In French and English.
  • Agata. Ghent, Belgium: self-published, 2021. ISBN 978-9-46433-497-5. With text by Agata Korbus and Depoorter.
    • Second Edition. Ghent, Belgium: self-published / Des Palais, 2022. ISBN 978-9-46433-497-5. With text by Agata Kay and Depoorter.

Films

  • Dvalemodus – short film, co-directed with Mattias De Craene.

Awards

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

  • Ou Menya, Kunsthal, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2012
  • Aller Retour, Buda Kunstencentrum [nl], Kortrijk, Belgium, 2013
  • Snapshot 11/ Namaste Brugge, Folklore Museum (Brugge) [nl], Bruges, Belgium, 2015
  • I am About to Call it a Day, Museum Hilversum [nl], Netherlands, 2017
  • As it may be, Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands, 2017
  • Bieke Depoorter 2015 – 2018, Fotomuseum Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, 2018; NRW Forum, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
  • Agata, Bieke & Germaine, Kortrijk, Belgium, 2021; Ter Dilft, Bornem, Belgium, 2022
  • A Chance Encounter, C/O Berlin, Berlin, 2022. With work from the series Agata and Michael that began with chance encounters.

Group exhibitions

References

  1. ^ "2009 Competition Results". Magnum Photos. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Larry Sultan Photography Award - Headlands Center for the Arts". Headlands Center for the Arts.
  3. ^ "Bieke Depoorter 2017 Winner Prix Levallois". Prix Levallois.
  4. ^ Kelly, Philippa. "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation announces 2023 prize shortlist". www.1854.photography. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  5. "Biography". biekedepoorter.com. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  6. Fussel, Genevieve (21 November 2014). "Bieke Depoorter's "I Am About to Call It a Day"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  7. Le Baron, Julie (30 April 2015). "Bieke Depoorter Photographs Home in Faraway Places". Vice. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  8. Smyth, Diane (13 June 2021). "The Dangers of Blurring the Line Between Photographer and Subject". Elephant. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  9. "Magnum Photos Photographer Profile". Magnum Photos. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  10. Erfdeel, Ons (1 July 2014). "Vlaamse fotografe Bieke Depoorter wordt associate member bij Magnum". Ons Erfdeel (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  11. "Bieke Depoorter treedt toe tot select clubje Magnumfotografen". De Morgen (in Dutch). De Persgroep Digital. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  12. Pearis, Bill (29 November 2023). "Charlotte Adigéry collaborator Bolis Pupul announces new solo album, shares "Completely Half"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  13. Peeters, Tom (6 March 2024). "Catchy musical tribute from Bolis Pupul to his mother". De Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  14. Beckers, Jurgen (4 March 2024). "Bolis Pupul: "Na de dood van mijn moeder ben ik naar Hongkong gereisd. Ik dacht: shit, dit hadden we samen moeten doen"" [Bolis Pupul: "After my mother's death, I traveled to Hong Kong. I thought: shit, we should have done this together"]. Humo (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  15. "Ou Menya: A Photo Essay by Bieke Depoorter". The Fader. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  16. "Our Favorite Photobooks of 2021 - Magazine - MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Exhibitions". biekedepoorter.com. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  18. "Bieke Depoorter 2015-2019: NRW-Forum Düsseldorf (en)". www.nrw-forum.de. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  19. "Bieke Depoorter". Databank | Kunstenpunt. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  20. "Bieke Depoorter - C/O Berlin". C/O Berlin. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  21. "Magnum Manifesto". International Center of Photography. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  22. "2018 edition". Cortona On The Move. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  23. Pelizzari, Maria Antonella (3 January 2023). "Charting Photography's Gender Dynamics". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 4 March 2023.

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