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Connections Around A Camera

Bieke Depoorter’s exhibition A Chance Encounter reveals the relationships she developed with two protagonists of her work.

Belgian photographer Bieke Depoorter’s interest is often directed towards people that society overlooks, and with whom she manages to create a disarming intimacy. She met Agata Kay at a strip bar in Paris, in 2017. Since, Bieke portrays her and Agata, a sex worker, writes analyzing the images and deconstructing her own life choices. The camera creates a tension in their friendship that pushes the two of them to reflect on desires, stigmas and taboos.

Agata, Note from Agata to Bieke, 2021

Agata, Paris, France, 2017

Agata, Paris, France, 2017

A second series called Michael was inspired by a man she met in the streets of Portland in 2015. He gave her three suitcases full of letters and personal objects, then disappeared. The photographer has since examined what was left of him and tried to track him down, reconstructing his way of thinking, looking for traces with a determination that evokes Sophie Calle’s work.

Michael, Michael at home, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2015

Michael, First suitcase Portland, Oregon, USA, 2015

Michael, Michael carried the suitcase to my car, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2015

Michael, To my girlfriend Becky, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2015

Bieke Depoorter’s A Chance Encounter opens on April 30 at
C/O Berlin.

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