28 october 2021, Flor Linckens
Joost Vandebrug: “As thin as a butterfly's wing”
Until 13 November, you can see a solo exhibition with work by Joost Vandebrug in Ingrid Deuss Gallery in Antwerp. The exhibited work is dominated by the many walks that the Dutch photographer and director (both film and documentary) made along the Danube River. His extensive walks brought him in countries like Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, as well as the borders of Serbia and Bulgaria.
Once home, Vandebrug gets to work with the ‘souvenirs’ that he collects along the way: pebbles, leaves, withered flowers and sand. The artist's work is characterised by an experimental approach in which he thoroughly examines his material: he photographs the objects through a microscope and then prints those photos on special handmade Japanese washi paper, using a pigment transfer method. For the work “Grains of Sand” (2021), which is shown in the exhibition, he photographed 48 grains of sand that he retrieved from the river. The work therefore consists of 48 photo frames. For other photos, he immortalises objects that were supposed to have a mere fleeting existence, like flowers or leaves.
Joost Vandebrug, Grains and Sand, 2021, Ingrid Deuss Gallery
Vandebrug likes to experiment with the material he prints on. When the photographer showed his latest print on Facebook and mentioned that he had printed it on 5gsm washi paper, a follower commented how difficult it must be to print on material that thin. Vandebrug responded: “As thin as a butterfly's wing!” The photographer always leaves room for imperfections, mistakes and traces in the paper.
Vandebrug: "Accidents and bruises are a considerable part of my work and are a reaction to the delicate photographic techniques and pigment transfers that I use in my practice. Once they appear, they become imperative to the final object and reveal the mechanics of the process that typically stay invisible — to me they make the final object feel more alive.”
Joost Vandebrug, Sand and Dust (Polyptych), 2021, Ingrid Deuss Gallery
But why is Vandebrug so fascinated by the Danube river?
Vandebrug: "The river flows through 10 countries, which is more than any other river in the world. As with all flowing bodies of water, the Danube is metaphorically rich with symbols of purity, fertility, and the circulation of life. It embodies and celebrates the irreversible passing of time, life, and culture. The change of the river is constant, though it will always remain a river as long as it flows. For me, water and reflection are connected to peace, happiness, healing, and clearing thoughts. Water reflects images and light, though the surface needs to be flat in order to see oneself. A flowing river is too anarchic to reflect a clear image.”Vandebrug studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Before focusing entirely on his photography, he made films and documentaries, among other things. He also shot photo campaigns for publications and brands like Nike, Superdry, Vogue and Dsquared2.
