Photo biennale in Ostend
Nadia Eeckhout
The photographs and their passers-by
I was emptying my mind, filling my lungs with sea air; however, camera on the chest. Seagulls were circling above the Ostend sand and sea, making their screeching noises (how I love that noise). One large flock was flying a frame around a couple of boats; huge cargo boats, slowly floating by on the horizon. It might have been a nice shot, but I didn’t take it. I was enjoying that glorious Friday morning with a promising sun and its still quite deserted beaches, except for a few early sunbathers, some joggers and beachcombers. Continuing my stroll along the seawall, I suddenly distinguished large placards installed in the sand. Photographs. Giant photographs. Impressive works. Soon after, I gathered they are part of the Ostend international photo biennale, a route of expositions of the works of eminent photographers on many different locations in- and outdoors, throughout the city of Ostend. Conceptual and contemporary.
The photographs spread a kind of mystic aura over the deserted beach, turning it into an almost surreal landscape absorbing me and many others. Eye-catching interventions; a generous invitation for clickers. I forgot all about emptying the head and filling the lungs, ready to register that gorgeous sight from various points of view.
After midday, the queen of Belgian seaside resorts got crowded. I still encountered some other photographic works exquisitely installed amidst the Ostend mixture of modern apartment buildings and the lovely monuments in authentic belle epoque style. Visitors, casual passers-by, photo shooters, cyclists, strollers, hungry sunbathers, you name it; many people were passing along the photographs having a closer look, taking pictures, or not taking notice of them at all. Anyway, their presence established an interaction with the works, with them becoming actors or even the protagonists of a bigger frame. A story within a story; sometimes generating surprising scenes, funny juxta’s, surreal moods, etc. For me, a fascinating experiment I wanted to share.
