Search results for ""Cannibal/Hannibal Publishers""

At the beginning of the war, not a single European army was prepared in any sense, to deal with the large numbers of victims in a humanitarian way. The firepower of the armies was increased, the defense reinforced, but victim care continued to lag seriously behind. Philanthropy, private initiative and the courageous efforts of many individuals had to make up for the failing medical care during the war. As the war progressed, medical care also developed and organization and relief improved. The greatest breakthrough was, however, the recognition - albeit reluctantly - of mental trauma caused by the war. During World War I, many soldiers fell victim to bizarre, anxious and disturbed behavior, which was sometimes referred to as "shell shock". The army commanders seemed reluctant to recognize a formal diagnosis, questioning whether men were really traumatized or simply cowards who were trying to stay away from the horrific and terrifying reality of the Front. Whereas in the early 20th century, the focus was mainly on the shock itself and the outward physical symptoms, today there is a far more in-depth exploration of the complex nature of the human reaction to extreme stress as a result of traumatic events, like war. There is a recognition of a deep, life-affecting condition termed as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. This book is an emotive study of the suffering of war, which can be overwhelming. Offering both analysis and reflection, this intensely moving book looks at the way in which psychiatrists, reporters, artists and war photographers currently perceive and treat the psychological suffering, the often invisible legacy of those involved in war and human conflict.

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The fall of the Berlin Wall motivated photographer and journalist Lieve Blancquaert to set off on an epic tour of Europe in her campervan. She visited all 27 member states of the European Union in search of the origins of this identity. She wanted to hear and feel what holds us together and what divides us.Her many personal encounters reveal time and again that our own language, history, concerns, desires and dreams are far more universal than we might at first think. Europeans as such don't exist, and yet we are connected in many different ways, whether we like it or not.Through hundreds of penetrating images and dozens of colourful stories, Lieve Blancquaert shows, as in a travel diary, the complexity, diversity and beauty of this vulnerable continent.With a foreword by Hendrik Vos. At the same time as the book, VRT Canvas is also launching a series of the same name, and the accompanying exhibition at Mechelen Cultural Centre runs from 14 March to 30

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Bram Demunter is a visual artist and a master of allusion. Visual intertextuality is one of the key elements of his pictures and one that is impossible to control. Till-Holger BorchertThe work of Bram Demunter (b. 1993) is intentionally associative in character. Drawing inspiration from the work of Flemish Primitives and contemporary artists, as well as from legends and myths, Demunter effortlessly combines a panoply of people, animals, flowers, rivers, hills and mountains in detailed compositions for his colourful paintings and drawings. This book offers an insight into Demunter's vibrant oeuvre and his innovative visual language of colour, shape and meaning. With text contributions by Till-Holger Borchert, Bram Demunter and Tom Van Laere.Text in English and Dutch.

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“The wealth of facts and erudition bring magic to Dirk Velghe’s Paris. A place where even tragedy seems less sombre. Anyone who does not already love Paris will fall for it after reading this book. ‘Ich bin ein Pariser’, as Kennedy might have said.” — Herman Van Rompuy, former president of the European Council In this book, reality always trumps fiction, truth always trumps myth. Get ready for a personal encounter with police inspectors and filles à la cuisse légère, Impressionists and art thieves, collaborators and résistants, Cubists and anarchists, artists’ models and terrorists, criminals and executioners. In fascinating and often unknown stories, such as ‘The Chanel-Wertheimer Case’, ‘Lenin’s Yellow Jersey’ and ‘Selling the Eiffel Tower’, hundreds of Parisian souls are brought back to life behind the façades, in the passages, and along the avenues and boulevards of the City of Light. In Paris Souls, readers taste the idiosyncratic harvest of someone who, after many seasons in his favourite city, is still enraptured by its fruits. Dirk Velghe recounts facts and stories about the extraordinary people and events that coloured Paris, sometimes with paint, sometimes with blood. Histories as only a true Parisian can tell them. Light-hearted but always deeply reasoned, Velghe gives an entirely new twist to the history of Paris. His no-nonsense prose and narrative flair guarantee compelling reading.

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Thanks to its location between two continents, Georgia has traditionally formed a bridge between East and West. A Story of Encounters reflects the exceptional art, culture, and history of the country from the Neolithic to the 18th century. Especially in the golden age of united Georgia, between the 11th and 13th centuries, the country experienced an unprecedented cultural and economic boom.This book shows how the turbulent history and the many exchanges along the major trade and silk routes at this crossroads of Europe and Asia resulted in an unimaginably rich heritage, which has remained largely unexposed until now. Refined goldsmith's art from the Bronze Age, wine the country's oldest cultural asset and original visual arts: Georgia offers many unexpected treasures, which are shown in detail for the first time.

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An 'atypical' Flemish primitive unravelled: Hugo van der Goes In this fascinating introduction to the work and life of Flemish Primitive Hugo van der Goes (c. 1440–1482/1483), several experts and researchers shed light on the virtuosity of the master himself. The Death of the Virgin is one of the most important works in Musea Brugge’s world-renowned collection of Early Netherlandish painting. After an intensive five-year restoration, the masterpiece has come into its own again, with many brilliant elements, a bright colour palette and newly uncovered details. Face to Face with Hugo van der Goes – Old Master, New Interpretation offers an insight into the timeless yet contemporary character of the masterpiece and pays attention to the iconic value of a work waiting to be discovered. With text contributions by Matthias Depoorter, Lieven De Visch, Marijn Everaarts, Sibylla Goegebuer, Griet Steyaert and Anne van Oosterwijk.

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Impressive monograph of artist Nick Ervinck Nick Ervinck (b.1981) is an artist primarily interested in the field of tension between nature and culture, between tradition and innovation. In his work, he strives to push the boundaries of digital possibilities, always with respect for (art) historical heritage. Nick Ervinck - Works, GNI_RI_2022 brings together Ervinck's well-known monumental sculptures and 3D prints, as well as drawings, ceramics and new work in brick and bronze. Publication accompanying the exhibition Nick Ervinck - GNI_RI_may2022 in St James' Church in Ghent from 23 May to 24 July 2022. Includes a text contributed by writer and curator Jon Wood, a specialist in modern and contemporary sculpture, who led the Henry Moore Institute's research programme for many years. Freddy Decreus, Professor Emeritus at Ghent University, and Michael Hübl also contributed texts. Text in English and Dutch.

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Fred Bervoets (b. 1942) is a legend in the Belgian art world and revered by the younger generation of artists. For years he has made both expansive, teeming artworks and extremely traditional prints, the latter of which has seen him develop his own unique technique. Although his spontaneous and gestural style seems to accord with Expressionism, Fauvism or Cobra art, Bervoets is above all an idiosyncratic artist who uncompromisingly treads his own path and gives free reign to his imagination. A simple anecdote from a friend in a café might provide the catalyst for a work in which the story assumes new proportions and adopts its own twists. His personal life also engenders self-portraits or other types of artworks, all crowned with an essential degree of self-mockery and irony. Bervoets allows everyday events to expand into miniature universes governed by their own rules and laws. The horror vacui of his large paintings conceals countless details, all of which contribute to the narrative. Bervoets' works might seem playful but they are tinged with melancholy. His caricatural figures are compelled to stand their ground in a denuded world. They achieve this by completely surrendering, with the necessary humour, to the inevitability of life. In recent years, Bervoets has increasingly presented himself as a peintre-graveur. This means he does not use the etching technique as a method of reproduction but as a means of expression. Each and every one of his chaotic and colourful works testifies to his pictorial passions, consummate skill and unbridled energy. This book presents the evocative work produced by Fred Bervoets between 2015 and 2019, including his most recent Night Drawings series, the masterful embodiment of the nocturnal reveries and memories that persistently haunt his mind.

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In what ways did the Jesuits deploy the Baroque visual language of the time to persuade the public of their vision on humankind, religion and society? In this beautifully illustrated book, which includes numerous artworks by Peter Paul Rubens and others, diverse authors rise to the challenge of finding answers to this complex question. The setting is Antwerp in the 17th century. At that time, the city was the Jesuit Order’s headquarters in the Netherlands and a bastion against the Calvinism in the Northern Netherlands Republic. The fine arts were flourishing there like never before. Painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck produced works for the Jesuits and participated in the Catholic community life organised by the order, with large groups of fellow believers. This publication takes a close look at the Baroque Saint Ignatius Church, now the Saint Charles Borromeo Church on Hendrik Conscienceplein, for which Rubens created magnificent ceiling paintings. The authors also show how more modest forms of art, such as religious folk prints, illustrated lives of the saints, schoolbooks, emblemata books and prayer books, were used to kindle the enthusiasm of as many believers as possible, both in their own country and in distant overseas territories. Baroque Influencers – Jesuits, Rubens and the Arts of Persuasion presents written contributions from researchers affiliated with the Universities of Antwerp, Louvain and Stuttgart and various heritage institutes.

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“Eating less meat, but better quality: that is the future of traditional craft butchery. Dierendonck today stands for craft, terroir and passion. With this book I want to pay tribute to all farmers who raise their animals with respect for nature, and to everyone working in the butchery trade, working day and night in cold rooms, surrounding by four walls.” - Hendrik Dierendonck Hendrik and his father Raymond Dierendonck have grown in recent years into the benchmark for everything to do with meat. They supply only the highest quality and are followed by any number of top chefs. Dierendonck is one of the pioneers of the international ‘nose-to-tail’ philosophy, in which literally every part of the slaughtered animal is utilised. He has specialised particularly in the processing and maturing of exceptional meat, including from the Belgian Red cattle breed from West Flanders. Enjoy the most delicious classic cuts from the butcher’s counter; wonder at the craft and skill of the butcher; and learn to process and prepare meat in the Dierendonck style from the dozens of adventurous and timeless recipes in this book. The Butcher’s Book has grown into a true cult publication in recent years and has now been supplemented with more than 20 achievable, refined recipes from his starred restaurant Carcasse. With text contributions from Hendrik Dierendonck, René Sépul, Marijke Libert and Stijn Vanderhaeghe, and high-class photographs by Thomas Sweertvaegher, Piet De Kersgieter and Stephan Vanfleteren.

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“Moving from A to B with the ferry across the open water feels grandiose. Standing at the railing on the outer deck, the mainland disappearing behind you and the island slowly looming up in front of you, something strange happens. A tranquility came over me that I had never experienced before. A new world lay at my feet.” - Jeroen Hofman Photographer Jeroen Hofman worked for years in all weathers on this magnum opus, capturing the Dutch islands in monumental images like a contemporary painter. All the photos were taken from an aerial platform, which enabled him to capture the landscape and the horizon in a very special way. An island has a mythical appeal to man and the imagination. This book celebrates and depicts the longing for an island as a place of rest, nature and seclusion. With text contributions by journalist and writer Arnold van Bruggen, who lives on Texel and made the iconic book The Sochi Project together with Rob Hornstra, and by Willemijn van der Zwaan, curator at Fotomuseum Den Haag. Text in English, Dutch and German.

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The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by the infamous Joseph Kony, is a rebel group that was active in Northern Uganda from the second half of the 1980s. The rebellion became notorious for the use of extreme violence, in particular its large-scale abductions of civilians, of which more than half were children. Rebel Lives is a visual story about life inside the rebel group: based on photographs taken by LRA commanders between 1994 and 2004, the book documents life inside the group, and depicts the rebels as they wanted to be seen among themselves and by the outside world. Kristof Titeca, senior lecturer in Development Studies and expert on the LRA, collected this material, and used it to trace the photographed (former) rebels. Together with Congolese photographer Georges Senga, he travelled back to photograph the former rebels in their current context, and give a voice to these actors. This visual story is not only about the LRA. It is a story about conflict in all times, and all places, where the limits of victim and perpetrator have become blurred, where people struggle to survive and find their place, and where children in particular bear the brunt of this tension.

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On July 21, 1969, the first man set foot on The Moon. When Neil Armstrong was asked if this made him feel big, he answered: "No, it made me feel really, really small." 50 years later, this publication celebrates that special moment that put life on earth into a totally different perspective. It collects pictures of the world's best photographers from the 1840s until today. Next to historical photographs and imagery printed in media, the publication features many artists that each in their own way reflect on this mystical celestial body, we call 'moon'. The book shows the diversity of meanings of The Moon, it's relation to mankind and to nature. The Moon has always both attracted and scared people around the world. It is our everyday connection to the unfathomable universe. Since time immemorial it is revered for its beauty, its stillness and mysterious appearance and yet also feared for its supernatural-seeming qualities. In mythology The Moon has always been given a central place. With its magnetic forces it changes the tides and has a direct and uncontrollable impact on mankind from above. In 1840, barely three years after the invention of photography, J.W. Draper makes the first picture ever made of The Moon and since that day photographers have never stopped following his example. The paradoxical aspects of the moon continue to fascinate and inspire. Like a photograph The Moon depends on sunlight to be visible. It has no light of its own and no apparent strength to resist our nightly city lights either. Photographers feel this close connection to The Moon's characteristics and find the perfect object in its aesthetics. The landing on The Moon was a culmination point of the1960's Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which quickly became a symbol of the Cold War. The images of the landing became the bearer of values and symbols of the United States and were widely spread through various media. In 1973 NASA abolished its moon program. The Moon had been conquered and the public seemed to have had lost interest. However, today people still find The Moon fascinating, and humanity continues to dream about setting foot on the sun's shadow.

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The Ghent Altarpiece or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by the Van Eyck brothers (1432), is recognised worldwide as a great work of art, and one of the most influential paintings ever made. It was the world's first major oil painting, and it is laced with religious mysticism. The work almost reads like an A to Z of Christianity - from the Annunciation to the symbolic sacrifice of Christ, with the 'Mystic Lamb' on an altar in a heavenly meadow, bleeding into the Holy Grail. For the first time, this book gathers together diverse insights on the Ghent Altarpiece, the monumental poliptych that the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck realised with the assistance of a large workshop and advisers on the painting's subject matters. This book has the same aim: to bring together experts from the most diverse disciplines. Only by combining the perspectives of (art) historians, philosophers, religious studies scholars, mathematicians and specialists in optics can one fully understand the riches and depth of this masterpiece. Lavishly illustrated, including details that have come to light using state-of-the-art techniques during the current conservation project and are not always visible to the naked eye.

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In the turbulent global context following the fall of the Russian Empire and the October Revolution, Georgia declared its independence in 1918. Between then and the beginning of Soviet rule in 1921, an Avant-Garde creative scene burgeoned. Artists met, mainly in the many taverns and cafés in Kutaisi and the capital Tbilisi, to organise multidisciplinary events. Their frequent collaborations and interactions, which bore the imprint of Georgian tradition and Western and Eastern influences, took various forms: paintings, drawings, films, photos, performances and typographical experiments. Divergent movements such as Symbolism/Neo-Symbolism, Futurism, Dadaism, Zaum, Expressionism, Cubism and Cubo-Futurism existed side by side in unprecedented creative turbulence. This book tells the unknown story of a vibrant Avant-Garde in the Caucasus, born in the taverns of Tbilisi – artistic laboratories where anything was possible, but where Soviet censorship lurked. Extensively illustrated with works by Elene Akhvlediani, Gigo Gabashvili, Irakli Gamrekeli, Lado Gudiashvili, David Kakabadze, Petre Otskheli, Niko Pirosmanashvili, Ilia and Kirile Zdanevich, and many others.

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Seventeeth-century Dutch art is famed throughout the world. Yet how ‘Dutch’ are those paintings in actual fact? Did the countless history pieces, landscapes, portraits, still lifes and scenes from everyday life truly originate in cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem, Delft and Leiden? Or might the cradle of these genres actually be located somewhere else? This book presents over 90 masterpieces by Flemish and Dutch artists to show how 17th century Dutch painting could never have flourished the way it did without the foundations laid in 16th century Antwerp. Thoroughly researched, it tells the story of the talented and accomplished artists and merchants who migrated north in search of religious liberty and new commercial opportunities after Antwerp fell to Spanish Catholic troops in 1585. With text contributions by Koenraad Jonckheere, professor of art history at Ghent University and author of the bestseller A New History of Western Art, Micha Leeflang, curator at the Museum Catharijneconvent, and Sven Van Dorst, head of the restoration studio at The Phoebus Foundation, and others.

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It was in 1970 that Philippe Herreweghe founded Collegium Vocale Gent, dedicated among other things to works by Johann Sebastian Bach and German Baroque music. The ensemble brought new insights on the performance of Baroque music to bear on vocal music, and attained world fame within just a few short years. In 2022, Philippe Herreweghe marks his 75th birthday with a splendid book in which he looks back at his life and his successful career as a conductor. Photographer Stephan Vanfleteren accompanied the ensemble to the Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi summer festival in Tuscany, and has produced a set of masterful images of the ensemble and its conductor. Religiosity plays a central role in his visual interpretation. With text contributions from Joep Stapel and Luc De Voogdt on the life and work of Philippe Herreweghe and the composers who have been his greatest inspiration, plus a personal contribution by Philippe Herreweghe on Bach and death. Text in English and Dutch.

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This is the first monograph on contemporary Belgian artist Stefaan De Croock (b.1982), alias Strook. He became well known for his ‘heads’ made of scrap wood. The key theme of his layered collages, sculptures and installations is, in a word, time, and is visible in every piece of the rough, patinated raw material he chooses to compose his works. Most frequently this is wood. “Old, weathered materials have something magical for me. They emanate a certain spontaneity that is impossible to recreate. The colours, the paint, the relief… they form an imprint of everything the material ever experienced. You can truly see time.” - Strook As part of the Mind the Artist project by Musea Brugge, work by Strook will be on show from 30 October 2021 to 6 March 2022 at various historic locations throughout the city. Text in English and Dutch.

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According to medieval theologians, faith is a deadly serious business. Humour and virtue are irreconcilable, because laughter is uncontrollable and escapes the control of reason. A modest smile is permitted. But laughing loudly, grinning and grimacing: these are the playing field of the devil – just as pernicious as other uncontrollable urges, such as physical love or the addiction of the gambler. That is the domain of the peasant or fool. In the late Middle Ages, every right-thinking town-dweller knew the difference between the peasant and the fool. Peasants are innocently gullible, primitive, throwing themselves into feasting, gorging, drinking and sex. The peasant is the antithesis of the cultivated urbanite, who fastidiously controls his urges – and who therefore above all must not laugh too loudly. Only during Innocents Day parties or Shrove Tuesday celebrations is it permitted for urban partygoers to play the fool and to show their ‘underbelly’. In contrast to the peasant, the fool escapes the existing order. He holds up a mirror to the self-declared wise citizens, because ‘the fool reveals the truth through laughter’, even though it may be hidden between piss and shit, sex and snot. It is for precisely this reason that Erasmus, in his In Praise of Folly writes not as himself but through the persona of Folly, a broad back behind which the wise person can hide when he denounces social problems. Laughter thus alters the world. In this context, the fool and irony became important motifs in medieval art, especially in the Low Countries. This original art book is illustrated with dozens of top-quality works by Flemish masters from worldwide collections.

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In her masterpiece of 2,75 x 21 metre, Ellen Harvey painted the region of Bruges as a contemporary, impressive interpretation of a Google Earth map, and in this publication she restores the ties between the city of Bruges and the harbour. In the new installation, behind a mirrored wall punctuated with peepholes, Harvey has hung a selection of paintings dating from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century, all of which belong to the reserve collection. Her work is an invitation to rediscover these rarely seen artworks. The paintings of the city, the canals, and the sea are reflected in the panorama on the opposite wall: Harvey's painted maps (2.75 x 21 meter) based on satellite images. The elaborate waterways, executed in mirrored glass, demonstrate the importance of the rivers and canals for the city. The British artist Ellen Harvey (b1967) lives and works in New York. Her work includes video art, installations and paintings. She has exhibited throughout the world, from Warsaw to Berlin, Los Angeles to Prague etc. Between 1999 and 2001 she brightened up the streets of New York with her 'NY Beautification Project': 40 small tondos and oval landscape scenes were applied between graffiti and tags on places and carriers in the city, such as containers, garage doors, walls...

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The versatile Anna Boch (1848–1936) was not only a talented artist, but also a highly knowledgeable collector, generous patron, and enthusiastic traveller with a great love of music and architecture. She was the only woman to become a member of the prominent art societies Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, and she was treated as an equal by her fellow artists. Inspired by kindred spirits including Théo van Rysselberghe, Paul Signac and Georges Seurat, Anna Boch set about developing her own personal version of Neo-Impressionism. Anna Boch’s lucid paintings chart her search for line and colour. Her passion for nature took her to remote destinations and imbued her with dreams of beautiful bucolic landscapes that she wanted to interpret. She loved the sea and succeeded in capturing the light and its reflection upon the coast with unparalleled skill, translating it into intriguing but above all timeless compositions. This book presents her oeuvre with more than 100 works, and resolutely claims a place for Anna Boch in the art history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Edited by Virginie Devilez, with the cooperation of Stefan Huygebaert and Wendy Van Hoorde.

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“Ballet inspires me. Human beings have the capacity to express themselves through many art forms, but when it comes to dance – and especially classical modern ballet – I am always amazed by that unbelievably elevated form of expression. It’s so precise and so incredibly skilled; I admire that enormously.” — Photographer and filmmaker Erwin Olaf “The fact that the photographer is looking through the camera lens means they have a different perspective from looking directly at the figure. That is voyeuristic. The camera can do something that the audience member can’t: zooming in for a close-up.” — Choreographer Hans van Manen The grand master of Dutch dance, Hans van Manen, celebrates his 90th birthday this year. That has given rise to international celebrations by leading ballet companies with the Hans van Manen festival from 8 to 29 June 2022, the exclusive publication Dance in Close-Up and the exhibition of the same name in Galerie Ron Mandos in Amsterdam from 19 June to 17 July 2022. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Hans van Manen was not only one of the world’s leading choreographers, but also an internationally acclaimed photographer. It was during this period that the then very young photographer Erwin Olaf met the famed artist, who immediately took him under his wing and introduced him to the world of the visual arts and studio photography. This book celebrates their 40 years of friendship, with a photo series in which Van Manen directs moments from his choreographic career, recorded with the utmost precision by Erwin Olaf. With text contributions from the authors Nina Siegal and Michael James Gardner.

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The expressive paintings by the Armenian artist Armen Eloyan (b. 1966) are as beguiling and seductive as they are repulsive. According to Eloyan, a fine painting is like a good joke, the pieces must fit together. With his characteristic dark humour, colourful paint and thick black contours he reveals a dark universe, in which things are thrown out of kilter and the viewer is confronted with existential questions. Cartoon-like figures emerge from mysterious landscapes, as though they have stepped out of a comic strip. They find themselves at the mercy of a harsh, dystopian reality. Eloyan's characters seem disturbed, melancholic and alcoholic, and appear to be in a state of existential meltdown. Almost masochistically they seem to passively accept their destiny. Eloyan combines influences from street art and cartoons with references to the great pioneers of painting, such as Willem De Kooning, Caspar David Friedrich and Philip Guston. He presents a world in which familiar figures, whom we often associate with our own youth, have lost their innocence. The publication is realised in collaboration with the FRAC des Pays de la Loire and the Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp.

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Jan De Maesschalck's paintings represent a sharp view on topical subjects and the news. However, his clear observation of current events is depicted within an atmosphere of muse and memory. As such, his work represents an impression of melancholy and mockery, yet both in a mild form. According to De Maesschalck, melancholy leads to beauty. The tone set in the depiction of shadowy interiors and forlorn women is relativising and even humorous. All works speak of a strong but indefinable desire. De Maesschalck's metier reveals an extreme attention for detail. With technical precision, he prepares his paper and draws with paint. Utilising acrylic paint that dries immediately, De Maesschalck has to work fast. He is drawer and painter at once. Brushstrokes are visible, and hence his secure draughtsmanship contributes to the vibrant quality of the works.

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*Intensive and innovative series on sexuality in Flanders*Includes an essay This is no dawn | Dit is geen dageraad by author David Van Reybrouck*Gert Jochems has been selected as one of British Journal of Photography's twenty photographers to watch in 2013 How should we look at these pictures of photographer Gert Jochems? With lust or disgust? With dismay or emotion? With nostalgia or yearning? S is a major series of photographs, taken by Belgian photographer Gert Jochems. They look at the 'regular' lives of 'regular' Belgian people, all of whom lead unconventional lives in private. In these photos, Jochems is an invisible observer in private sitting rooms, bedrooms and basements. Text in English & Dutch.

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*A moving souvenir of Ypres in Belgium, where so many British soldiers died and were lost in Flanders Fields After the First World War, the town of Ypres was reduced to ruins. It was literally rebuilt from the ground up. The Menin Gate, was also restored; the place where tens of thousands of soldiers left for the Front, never to return. Today the Menin Gate is inscribed with the names of 55,000 soldiers from across the British Empire. It is a monument for those who fell and were forever lost, those who could not be buried. Their names are ordered hierarchically by unit and rank, but many of these men were conscripted civilians, not professional soldiers, serving their country only for the duration of the war. The Menin Gate is recent, living history and still an extremely evocative and haunting place. Thousands of men, fathers, sons, brothers...a whole generation lost, but not forgotten. Every day at 20.00 hrs, a lone bugler at the Menin Gate sounds the Last Post and the fallen are remembered. Text in English, Dutch and French

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Award-winning German photographer Michael Wolf (19542019) grew up in Canada, Europe and the United States. In 1994, Wolf moved to Hong Kong, where he worked for eight years as a contract photographer for Stern Magazine. The core of Wolf's work consisted of capturing life in megacities. Many of his projects depict the architecture and popular culture of metropolises, and Hong Kong Whispers is no exception.This book contains a stunning series of photos showing the vibrant global city of Hong Kong. Wolf's photographs are displayed in dialogue with the acerbic and ambiguous drawings of Arpaïs Du Bois (1973). Based on intense engagement with Wolf's series of images, she reflects on unnoticed moments and events that characterise life in the metropolis. The visual exchange between photographs and drawings took shape during Du Bois' stay of several weeks in Hong Kong (2004), during which the two artists observed the city both together and individually.

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In the autumn of 2023, Museum Mayer van den Bergh invited 15 contemporary artists to enter into a dialogue with its impressive collection. The works of Bram Demunter, Marcel Dzama, Adrian Ghenie, Kati Heck, Leiko Ikemura, Edward Lipski, Jonathan Meese, Ryan Mosley, Muller Van Severen, Tobias Pils, Tal R, Ben Sledsens, Dennis Tyfus, Inès van den Kieboom and Rinus Van de Velde are placed alongside Pieter Bruegel's world-famous Dulle Griet (Mad Meg'), but also next to the portraits of Cornelis De Vos and Alessandro Allori, still lifes by Antwerp masters such as Daniël Seghers and works by Jacob Jordaens, Joachim Patinir and Gerard de Lairesse. A number of artists have also been directly inspired to create new work, including Jonathan Meese, Tal R, Ben Sledsens, Bram Demunter, Rinus Van de Velde and Dennis Tyfus.Text in English and Dutch.

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“Broek’s work’s got attitude.” – ­Marlene Dumas “In combining extremes, Broek homes in on our zeitgeist." – Wilma Sütö The central theme in the oeuvre of Dutch artist Hans Broek (b. 1965) is landscape. He often paints locations where history has left an indelible mark, manifesting his belief that art should jolt you awake. He finds inspiration all around the world: a telegraph pole under a dark, cloudy Spanish sky; modern bungalows on the outskirts of LA; melting ice caps in Greenland; and wind-blown, rainy landscapes on the Atlantic seaboard in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. His series of paintings that depict prisons, dungeons, cell doors, plantations, and seats of colonial power funded by slavery - ‘guilty architecture’ where injustice was witnessed without intervention - serve as moving, silent witnesses to the ugly history of the Dutch slave trade. With contributions by Edo Dijksterhuis, Dominic van den Boogerd, Wilma Sütö and the artist himself. This book is published on the occasion of the exhibition. Text in English and Dutch

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“Janssens’s new photo series 'Lightness' is teeming with contradictions, dualities and ambiguities. Her photos are both unbearably light and unbearably heavy. It opens the door to a series of new ideas on our desire to escape, our lack of a sense of reality, and our superficiality.” – Thijs Demeulemeester With Lightness Frieke Janssens has created a cathartic photo series, tapping into our urge to escape and our individual quest for a sense of purpose and meaning. Her compositions explore the visual dichotomy between weightlessness and gravity, water and air, aesthetics and imperfection. Using the sea and its eternal ebb and flow as a backdrop, the photographer contemplates the universally human. To what extent can we ever know or understand each other? This exclusive numbered and signed leporello is published on the occasion of the exhibition Lightness, which runs at Cultural Centre Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist from 26 March to 12 June 2022. Its publication coincides with ‘Foto Knokke-Heist’. With contributions by Sofie Crabbé, Lize Spit and Thijs Demeulemeester.

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The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) has undergone an 11-year renovation period resulting in a total makeover. The museum as it stands today is in all respects new: there is an entirely new museum volume, the monumental museum building has been restored to its historic magnificence, the exterior has been conserved and the garden newly landscaped. KMSKA – The Finest Museum showcases this enormous renovation and also highlights a second innovation of equally massive scale: the entire operation of the museum has been brought up to date. In this book you can find the answers to questions such as, how did the collection reach its current incarnation? And, how does the KMSKA make its decisions about what to display? How do you appeal to as diverse an audience as possible? How does the museum present itself to the world? What expectations are museums faced with in our 21st century? Discover the vibrant history of this modern and perpetually evolving museum. With images by photographer Karin Borghouts. This publication is issued on the occasion of the reopening of the KMSKA in September 2022.

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Stunning monograph on the colourful universe of artist Ben Sledsens. Artist Ben Sledsens (b. 1991) combines an in depth knowledge of the visual tradition with his own mythology. With his large-scale canvases, he shows us fragments from his imaginary world, a Utopia in which he himself wants to live. His colours and reinterpretations of the landscape are reminiscent of artists such as Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Henri Rousseau and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Although his landscapes, portraits, and historical and daily scenes have an idyllic appearance, there is also a certain tension and mystery in his scenes. He always builds up his compositions around a moment of climax with an open beginning and end. By reusing motifs, themes, objects and poses, Sledsens creates an intriguing puzzle of references and builds a recognisable, coherent, romantic and utopian oeuvre. This publication bundles Sledsens’ most recent work, from 2018 to the present. With text contributions by Herwig Todts (curator modern art KMSKA, Antwerp) and Stefan Weppelmann (director Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig). Text in English, French, Dutch, and German.

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A unique take on fashion in 2022. In Mirror Mirror – Fashion & the Psyche, MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp and Dr. Guislain Museum examine how fashion, psychology, self-image and identity are connected. The personal experience of the body is the main theme of this unexpected dialogue between visual art and avant-garde fashion. Featuring work by Ed Atkins, Walter Van Beirendonck, Noir Kei Ninomiya, Genieve Figgis, Genesis Belanger, Hussein Chalayan, Comme des Garçons, Joseph Schneller, Ezekiel Messou, Giovanni Battista Podestà, Helga Goetze and Yumiko Kawai, among others. Publication accompanies the exhibition Mirror Mirror – Fashion & the Psyche at MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp and Dr. Guislain Museum, Ghent from 8 October 2022 to 26 February 2023. With textual contributions by curators Yoon Hee Lamot and Elisa De Wyngaert, Mara Johanna Kölmel, Lucy Moyse Ferreira, Monika Ankele and Renate Stauss, who also wrote a text contribution.

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Intriguing self-portraits, desolate landscapes and vibrant colours: the Dutch-Croatian artist Sanja Marušić (b. 1991) creates new worlds with her images. She travels to the four corners of the globe, but just as easily she uses her own living room as a backdrop. Recurring themes are escapism, the relationship between man and nature, motherhood, and finding the balance in human relationships. Marušić’s artistic practice is guided by her love of experimenting with shapes, colours and layers. Photography is the starting point for each work, but she then uses a variety of analogue and digital techniques, sometimes changing the image in such a way that it seems as if we are looking at a painting. The performances (staged by the artist herself), the creation of a set using handmade props, and the manual post-processing are just as important as the photo itself. The stories she tells through her photography and films touch on her personal life; for example, the series Eutierria (2019) depicts her honeymoon, Before You (2020) documents her pregnancy, and Sasha and Sanja (ongoing) deals with her motherhood. With a text contribution by author Selin Kuşçu.

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Since the birth of photography, the photobook has always been an essential medium for photographers wanting to display and distribute their work. But the photobook is more than just a display case: it's a means of expression, an art object, a historical record, a propaganda tool, a multi-sensory experience. Photobook Belge is the first ever overview of photobooks created by Belgian photographers. Covering a period of more than 150 years, from the mid 19th century to the present, it features almost 250 photobooks, all carefully described and illustrated. It's the first time that research into the production and context of Belgian photobooks has been carried out on this scale. In so doing, it sheds light on a hitherto neglected part of Belgium's long and fascinating photo history. Over time, the Belgian photobook has become well established. With Photobook Belge, it finally gets the recognition it deserves. Featuring works by famous names such as Dirk Braeckman, Marcel Broodthaers, Bieke Depoorter, Gilbert Fastenaekens, Edmond Fierlants, Geert Goiris, Harry Gruyaert, Max Pinckers, Marie-Françoise Plissart, Marc Trivier and Stephan Vanfleteren, as well as many undiscovered gems from Belgium's rich photographic history. Compiled by Tamara Berghmans (curator FOMU - Fotomuseum Antwerp), with contributions from Pool Andries, Jan Baetens, Sandrine Colard, Emmanuel d'Autreppe, Johan De Vos, Steven F. Joseph, Johan Pas and Stefan Vanthuyne.

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This publication combines the works of Belgian artist Philippe Vandenberg (1952-2009) and American artist Bruce Nauman (b. 1941). At first, it may seem startling to see Nauman's small but dense selection of works alongside those by Vandenberg. The artists never met one another and they could not be more different in their choice of artistic media. And yet there's something that links the oeuvre of these apparently divergent artists. This publication examines that extraordinary link. The art of both Vandenberg and Nauman is direct, uncompromising and distressing. They share a common attitude towards their artistic practices. Their works are raw and uncouth, finished just to the point where they enter the onlooker's conscience as a kind of prelude or genesis to something. The work of Vandenberg and Nauman originates form the same source: frustration. They cry out in despair at the dark side of humanity, mourning our propensity for hatred and violence, coldness and vilification. They explore the impossibility of genuine, uncompromised communication between individual people. Both artists succeed in creating images that capture the abyss within ourselves, our failings and our cruelty. Lust and pain, violence and horror are all too close to each other. "It is said that art is about life and death. That may be melodramatic, but it's also true," Nauman said. "LIVE OR DIE! Nothing more, nothing less." The book is edited by Wouter Davidts, with texts by Dr. Brigitte Kolle (Head of Contemporary Art, Hamburger Kunsthalle), John C. Welchman (Professor of Art History, University of California, San Diego) and Anna Dezeuze (Lecturer in Art History, Ecole Superieure d Art et de Design Marseille Mediterranee). It accompanies an exhibition at Gallery Sofie Van de Velde in Antwerp: 30.03.2017 - 21.05.2017.

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Belgicum is a photo project about Belgium. It is not an objective representation of a country but rather a subjective photographical document in black and white. It's a journey of exploration into a small country in the heart of Europe, at the turn of the centuries. More than fifteen years Vanfleteren has wandered through and hunted in the 'Belgicum' territories, guided by emotion and by the love for his homeland. He made a journey through a scarred land, in search of the irretrievable identity of a country with the melancholic soul of an old nation. Over the past ten years, over 11,000 copies were sold of this international bestseller. Belgicum grew out to be a reference work in the Belgian history of photography. On the occasion of the tenth birthday of this cult book, it was reprinted. With text by David Van Reybrouck. Text in English, French and Dutch.

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During World War II, Adolf Hitler gave the order for a line of defence to be constructed along the coasts of the western front. Ranging from the French-Spanish border to the north of Norway, this Atlantic Wall is a series of bunkers, barricades and coastal batteries. Over the past year, Stephan Vanfleteren has photographed this 'wall' of more than 2600 kilometres in his trademark black-and-white style. He planted his tripod on various beaches in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, climbed cliff faces in France, sailed between the fjords of Norway and stood in the surf in Denmark to photograph the ruins of the largest military structure of the previous century. Vanfleteren shows his wonder for the untamed architectural beauty of these concrete structures, and the power of nature as it slowly reclaims a wall that was once considered impenetrable.

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Of the more than 40,000 pieces that make up the Collection Flemish Community, only a small portion hangs in the halls of major museums. Most of the collection is out of sight of the general public.Reflections Views on the Collection Flemish Community reveals for the first time the result of years of collecting and unveils the diversity of art in Flanders. Masterpieces are placed alongside unknown treasures. Present and past are interwoven in marvellous combinations. The result is not only a feast for the eyes, but also offers a surprising insight into the multitude of ways in which one can look at art and demonstrates how unique the collection is.

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Arno will never die, even though he is dead. There is his music. And there are the pictures Danny took. Danny's photographs don't sing. They whisper. You can hear the singer, his voice, his stuttering, his laughter, his breathing. This book is the shadow cast by a life. Stephan VanfleterenDanny Willems not called the sixth band member of T.C. Matic for nothing stood side-by-side with Arno Hintjens for 50 years, both as a photographer and as a friend. The sheer number of photographs he took of Arno, from his very first concerts to the final leg of his journey, is a testament to those years. This book shows Arno's life in pictures. It is the story of two men who not only surrendered wholeheartedly to their passion for music but were also mutual kingmakers.An overview of Arno's career in more than 200 pictures with dozens of anecdotes, a complete iconography of the cover art from 1976 to 2022, and a foreword by Stephan Vanfleteren.Text in English, Frenc

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