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• Griet Van de Velde – ‘Points in Time’, by Jayne Kelly Crawshay-Hall, South Africa, 2015

Griet van de Velde is interested in the nature of the present moment and investigates the ways in which documented ‘points-in-time’ are able to transcend mundanity and propose kindred particularity. These suggested binaries, typical to Van de Velde’s imagery, formulate the nature of each photograph.

Through her intimate visual treatment of each juncture the ephemeral becomes monumental, the unexceptional becomes remarkable, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Using everyday scenery as subject matter, Van de Velde investigates the philosophy of the moment, the ontology of time past and present.

Van de Velde‘s subject matter acts as a pretext to investigate the notion of the extracted experience; each singular piece can be read as a metaphor for one’s overlooking of the present moment. Elevated through the careful composition, each photograph becomes a reference to a fleeting instance that is at once both conventional and unique.

A guiding principle for Van de Velde is for the image to transcend documentation of physicality. Van de Velde’s photography transcends mimesis. Her photography advocates the voice of the artist herself, where the image acts as a record of imagination, creativity and value of a point in time. In her own words, “My pictures actually are what they are and the less words you can find for them, the better.”

 

Griet van de Velde was born in Belgium, and currently lives and works in Gent. She studied photography at KASK and Luca School of Arts, Ghent. Seminal exhibitions include her two solo shows. The first one curated by Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto at Den Bouw (BE-Kalken) in 2014. The other show, titled ‘(extra)ordinary’, took place in 2015 at Espazo Miramemira (SP-Santiago de Compostela) and was curated by Angel Calvo Ulloa (SP). Van de Velde also participated in several group shows. Recently at the art space OTR in Madrid, curated by the Brazilian artist Marlon de Azambuja.