Vincen Beeckman (1973) is a photographer who connects people. His life is synonymous with encounters. He takes time to build a quality relationship by being present, if only briefly, every time. These chance encounters turn into long-term relationships.
The Ping Pong exhibition offers a vision of four long-term projects that took place largely simultaneously. In a way, Beeckman is playing ping-pong with the people he meets and the stories he fixes in time. The game and the interaction only last as long as the two parties are passing the ball back and forth.
Les Cracks is a multi-faceted encounter with a group of homeless people living around Brussels Central Station. Beeckman gave them disposable cameras, creating a valuable exchange. Together they produced a book and exhibitions, with everyone involved at every stage of the process.
The project Les Intimes is about a family in Mons. Beeckman plays the role of family photographer and is invited to every important event. Be it a birthday, a move, a wedding or a funeral, at first strictly at the request of the family itself, then more organically.
La Devinière is a psychotherapy center near Charleroi where people suffering from mental disorders live in community. The photographer has been coming there regularly for years to party, bond, build or destroy together, play and create. delpire & co published La Devinière in November 2022.
At the invitation of FOMU, Beeckman blended into the cultural scene around Studio Palermo, a multidisciplinary design studio in Antwerp that brings together tattoo art, illustration, music and fashion. Beeckman meets new people. This dynamic results in a kaleidoscopic and original image of the port city.
Ping Pong is Vincen Beeckman’s first major museum exhibition.
