Max Pinckers - Hélène Amouzou

MAX PINCKERS - DOUBLE BIND
​26.11.2021 - 13.03.2022

Can a photograph say something about the world we live in? Max Pinckers (BE, 1988) places photography under the microscope. He explores the boundaries of documentary and reveals its manipulative nature. His artistic response is “speculative documentary”, a blending of fact and fiction. FOMU presents the first retrospective to cover the past five years of Pinckers’ work.

Margins of Excess takes us inside the sensational narratives of six individuals for whom fantasy and imagination are a way of life. Red Ink emerged from an assignment in North Korea. Pinckers used artificial light to draw attention to the staged nature of the images.

Controversy and Trophy Camera pose critical questions about the credibility of iconic photographs. For his most recent ongoing project, Unhistories—exhibited here for the first time—Pinckers tells the underreported story of the colonial violence perpetrated by the British regime against Kenyans during the country’s struggle for independence. Thousands of people held in detention camps were victims of torture and executions at the hands of their colonial oppressors.

Max Pinckers exhibits worldwide and is the driving force behind the Lyre Press publishing house, which publishes all his work. He is co-founder of The School of Speculative Documentary and from 2015 to 2021 was a doctoral researcher at KASK School of Arts, Ghent.

Simultaneously with the exhibition, Hannibal publishes the book 'Max Pinckers', author Hans Theys. The book is for sale in the museum shop for €49.95.

Press images

Underneath you can find a selection of 6 press images in low res. A larger selection of press images and high res images are available on request. You can use a maximum of 3 images free of rights for articles about the exhibition. The images may not be cropped and you always have to mention the full copyright.

Performance #1 (Los Angeles), from the series Margins of Excess, 2018 © Max Pinckers, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de VeldeJay J. Armes, from the series Margins of Excess, 2018 © Max Pinckers, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de Velde

View on South Korea from the Balcony at the DMZ, North Korea, 2017, from the series Red Ink, 2018 © Max Pinckers, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de Velde

Table Tennis Equipment at Kobangsan Guesthouse, Pyongyang, North Korea, 2017, from the series Red Ink, 2018 © Max Pinckers, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de VeldeField Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima with her Grandson Bernard Mungai Kamande, Nyeri, 2019, from the series Unhistories (2015-ongoing) © Max Pinckers/MMWVA, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de Velde

Members of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association, Murang’a Branch, 2019, from the series Unhistories (2015-ongoing) © Max Pinckers/MMWVA, courtesy Gallery Sofie Van de Velde

HÉLÈNE AMOUZOU - ENTRE TEMPS
​26.11.2021 - 13.03.2022

In the surreal months following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Hélène Amouzou (1969) left Liège to visit family in her native Togo. It was the first time since moving to Belgium 25 years ago that she paid such a long visit to her birth country. The pandemic brought the world to a standstill. To Amouzou, it felt like it had turned back the hands of time. ​

Amouzou is known for her moving portraits and fleeting imagery. Entre temps (‘Between Time’) is more than just a striking series about her Togolese family and friends. It is a self-portrait. As a migrant, Amouzou often feels trapped between two worlds; between here and there, then and now. Like her earlier acclaimed work Entre le papier peint et le mur (2009), this series is a reflection on identity and belonging. ​

Amouzou’s choice for analogue photography was a deliberate one. This slow method complements the meditative nature of her work. Entre temps was commissioned by FOMU and created in several darkroom sessions in the museum. ​

This exhibition is the result of an art commission as part of the COVID-19 grant provided by FOMU in spring 2020 in response to the coronavirus measures, which hit many photographers and artists hard. For the selection, FOMU collaborated with art and photography experts. Hélène Amouzou was nominated by Anne Wetsi Mpoma. Five other artists also received a FOMU grant within this framework, including Mous Lamrabat, Aurélie Geurts, Joud Toamah and artist duo Alexey Shlyk & Ben Van den Berghe. In de vervreemdende maanden na het uitbreken van het coronavirus bezoekt

Press images

Underneath you can find 1 press image in low res. A large selection of press images and high res images are available on request. You can use a maximum of 3 images free of rights for articles about the exhibition. The images may not be cropped and you always have to mention the full copyright.

PRESS CONFERENCE & INTERVIEWS

The press conference for 'Max Pinckers - Double Bind' en 'Hélène Amouzou - Entre temps' is on Thursday 25 november, 11 am at FOMU. The curators and artists wil guide you through the exhibitions. Interviews are on request.

Please confirm your prescence before 25 november.