Bio

Belgian photographer based in Tokyo. I focus on creating photographic series about life in cities using photography’s unique ability to capture a decisive moment since 2003.

In my latest series Tokyo Trains I reflect on our commute in Tokyo. The train commute has become a routine. We spend the time reading emails or manga, playing games or for most of us sleeping. And yet we’ve forgotten about our joy as kids to just watch the city passing by. This series uses photography’s unique ability to capture with slow shutter speeds the city showing beautiful abstract shots. An ordinary train ride seamlessly transforms into a imaginary museum of abstract photos but with no-one watching.

My first photo series City/Stills looked at portraits in two different places: on billboards in the street and on movies on a TV screen. While we are watching moving images, we are sitting quietly in front of the TV. However, on the streets, the images are static and we are the ones moving around. Photography allows stopping the time in each location.

“Un Voyage” was inspired by a quote from André Malraux in a « la condition humaine » : ‘les hommes ont des voyages, ont des femmes les amants’. Can travelling and love be the same thing?

I was one of the 5 Belgian photographers showcasing my ‘Belgian’ work, Belgian Impressions at the Cube exhibition organized by the Belgian Embassy in Sanlitun Village (Beijing) in October 2009.

In 2010, I supported ‘Couleurs de Chine’, a Chinese NGO, showcasing my series ‘Beijing Buses’. The series was created in Beijing in 2007 when buses were the main public transportation means. They were very old and were always crowded. Can photography transform common objects into aesthetic objects?

Using the ancient technique of collages, ‘In Tokyo’ evokes the memories of a trip to Tokyo. These collages seek to re-create the moment when we return home, where images and memories mingle in our mind. We see something both new and already familiar at the same time. ‘In Tokyo’ was shown at the International Photo Festival of Alicante (PhotoALC) at Fnac in Alicante in March 2014 and received strong coverage in the Spanish press including: EL MUNDO and INFORMACION.

I was born in 1976 in Kortrijk (Belgium). I lived in Beijing (2007 – 2012) and in Alicante, Spain (2012-2014). In September 2014 I moved to Tokyo, where I am developing new projects.

Exhibitions

2002 Group show at Contraste (atelier de photographie) Brussels.
2003 Group show at Contraste (atelier de photographie) Brussels.
2004 First solo exhibition “City/Stills” in Brussels.
2004 “City/Stills” shows at “Entre Nous” in Brussels.
2006 “Un Voyage” at an art collector’s home, Brussels.
2008 “City/Stills” shows at “Café de la poste” in Beijing for 8 months.
2009 Group show “Cube from Belgium to China” in Sanlitun, Beijing.
2009 “Belgian Impressions” at Peking University in Beijing.
2010 “Beijing Buses” at Couleur de Chine, Beijing.
2012 “On the Beijing Road” at Metaestetica, 798-Dashanzi, Beijing.
2012 “Belgian Impressions” at Gonzo Art Museum, Beijing.
2013 “Alicante Contemporaneo y vivo II’ at L’Espai in Alicante.
2013 “In Tokyo” Book Talk at Fnac in Alicante.
2013 “In Tokyo” Night Outdoor Projection at EL CLAUSTRO, Alicante
2014 “In Tokyo”, during First International Photo Festival Alicante at Fnac, Alicante
2015 “In Tokyo” Group Show with Spotuart at Ancienne Quincallerie, Brussels.
2015 Group Show, “Belgian Impressions” at Embassy of Belgium, Tokyo.
2016 “Tokyo Trains” at Minna no Gallery , Tokyo.
2019 “Tokyo/In_a_silent_way” at Belgian Embassy’s Art Space, Tokyo.

Books Published
2012 “In Tokyo”

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GREGORY VAN BELLINGHEN

Tokyo Trains