Geert Goiris

Dead Bird, 2008, framed lambda print, 100 x 120 cm

CCTS, 2009, lambda print, 100 x 125 cm

Abyss, 2000, from the Resonance series, framed lambda print, 100 x 120 cm

From the Whiteout series

From the Resonance series

From the Slowfast series, 2007

Liepaja, 2004,  from the Resonance series

Whiteout #3, 2008-2009

Blast #3, 2001, 99,6 x 124 cm

Suspension, 2006, framed lambda print, 100 x 120 cm

Artist Statement

I have used the term ‘traumatic realism’ before – it refers to a mental state indicating a breaking point, where fact and fiction fuse in a sort of micro-mystery, where the familiar takes on an unfamiliar presence. My images are not a documentary – they do not claim to show things as they are, but more as they seem, or as they might be.

…

I often use a long exposure time. I find it fascinating that the camera is capable of summarizing a whole hour in one single image. That type of photography intrigues me – the film can perceive a wider spectrum than our eyes, it can observe very quickly or very slowly. In most of my pictures, the camera is not so much a witness to the moment, but registers state of being, a lapse of time.

Such condensation of time is the reason why I enjoy traveling to remote regions. There the geological time is much more present than the human time. Thus all the elements that testify of a human presence are seen from a different angle.

Artist Bio

Born in 1971 in Bornem, Geert Goiris lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.

Primarily using photography, Goiris’ practice documents strange sites and unusual encounters with subjects that appear distinctly out of place, whether a rock formation, an abandoned house or an albino wallaby. His technique reflects the unnaturalness of the situations he records, using prolonged photographic exposure to lend his pictures a surreal quality.

Constantly traveling in search of images to complement his singular lexicon, Goiris has evolved a body of work, which he describes as “Traumatic Realism”. His photographs often represent alienated landscapes: empty fields, mountains and abandoned urban environments infused with nostalgia, solitude and drama. He also investigates derelict Modernist buildings, which stand as enduring reminders of the failings of great ideologies.

Geert Goiris’s Website

Geert Goiris’s Show at Galerie Catherine Bastide