Most of my pictures are taken through windows, that is to say through glass, canvas or any other see-through. They function as a natural filter, which I use to see less. To me, plain air provides too much information, showing scenes and faces too clearly for my fantasy to open her eyes. Windows on the other hand offer much more space for less; they invite imagination; in fact, they are the perfect obstacle that sees to it that I cannot get the whole picture.

Moreover, windows allow any weather condition on their panes, in this way enhancing atmosphere, which I like as my pictures primarily focus on aesthetics and mood rather than on telling socio-political stories.
I am equally fascinated by their generosity to reflect what is on the other side, merging several stories in a single frame, generating a new tale. In urban settings, reflections can be fast, capricious, ever changing; they are transparent, hard to catch, impossible to touch, they fade away as quickly as they popped up. To me, reflections reflect the fleeting nature of (human) existence to a broader extent; they witness the transience of life; embody birth, decay and death. And then there is that magical power of photography to eternalise split seconds; a wizard able to catch and freeze that transient life.

The more I take pictures through windows, the more I realise ‘reality’ is a collage, which can be read and experienced in so many ways. And yet, that same window, that natural filter which allows me to see less, leads me straight to genuine intimate moments, close and crystal clear, sometimes almost touchable. Minds become readable, the voice of silence transcends the urban vibrations, details are magnified, … making each story unique.

However, I don’t intend to describe faces; explanation does not belong to the world I want to depict although the portraits I take are derived from that very world. It is my priority to give myself and spectators space for imagination and create a kind of escape room away from defining, explaining and understanding. A long lens is my assistant. It is an important tool to convey a sense of distance and focus at the same time. Using a long lens helps to magnify detail, blur the obvious and leave the backdrop unexplained; it aids to dig up the mystery I want to dive into.

Scenes, which are at first sight instantly recognizable, may become something else than what they are supposed or expected to be or initially were. It is at this point that it gets interesting to me; when the obvious is shaken on its throne and gets gradually erased or replaced.

This host called a window, is the producer of a scenario in which it itself takes part in a Hitchcockian way; the transparent conductor leading an orchestra of capricious reflections, light&shadow, mood, textures and tones to a crescendo. Shooting through windows allows me to see things differently and escorts me to another world which is very present in this one (< rephrased quote of Paul Éluard). Wonder and magic do not exist in fairy tales alone, they are everywhere; they live underneath the tiny skin of everyday life.