Carl De Keyzer
Born in 1958, Carl De Keyzer is a Belgian contemporary photographer. De Keyzer's freelance career began in 1982 while he was teaching at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium.
Born in 1958, Carl De Keyzer is a Belgian contemporary photographer. De Keyzer's freelance career began in 1982 while he was teaching at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium.
De Keyzer has exhibited his work in many European galleries and has received several awards, including the Book Award from the Arles Festival, the W. Eugene Smith Award in 1990, and the Kodak Award in 1992.
Among the many museums that display his collections are the Museum of Contemporary Art in Gent, Belgium; the FNAC Collection in Paris, France; ICP in New York, and Centro de Arte in Salamanca, Spain.
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Prison camp - Krasnoyarsk, Siberia
Major subjects in De Keyzer's work have included the collapse of the Soviet Union and India. He currently lives in Ghent and continues to teach.
Major subjects in De Keyzer's work have included the collapse of the Soviet Union and India. He currently lives in Ghent and continues to teach.
Bombay, India
- 1985
Gelatin Silver Print
Gelatin Silver Print
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The day of June 30 every year has been defined as “The Independent Day” since independence from Belgium in 1960. This year is the 50th anniversary. Belgian photographer Carl De Keyzer, decided to undertake the long journey to the Congo following the path set by the “Guide Du Voyageur du Congo Belge”, published in 1954.
Over six years (2003 – 2009) he made several trips and he visited the places where there used to be factories, missions, prisons, mines, military sites and harbours built by the Belgians that, today, are now either ruins that litter the Congo or serve identical or different purposes.
The portrait of the country that De Keyzer found is quite tough. In fact, from Mobuto’s Zaire to the Hutu militias in eastern Congo, the history of the country has been one of civil war and corruption. In spite of that Carl says: “In the Congo I was surprised to see that people still manage to retain an incredible joie de vivre. When you visit these places, it is as if nothing has happened.”
Carl De Keyzer’s approach diverges substantially from that of press photographers. His vision is personal, not objective and can raise questions rather than supply answers. “I like visitors to my exhibitions to ask questions on leaving them. My projects are more like essays, novels or films.”
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For The Love Of God
January 2009
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Congo: It Seems Nothing Has Happened
The day of June 30 every year has been defined as “The Independent Day” since independence from Belgium in 1960. This year is the 50th anniversary. Belgian photographer Carl De Keyzer, decided to undertake the long journey to the Congo following the path set by the “Guide Du Voyageur du Congo Belge”, published in 1954.
Over six years (2003 – 2009) he made several trips and he visited the places where there used to be factories, missions, prisons, mines, military sites and harbours built by the Belgians that, today, are now either ruins that litter the Congo or serve identical or different purposes.
The portrait of the country that De Keyzer found is quite tough. In fact, from Mobuto’s Zaire to the Hutu militias in eastern Congo, the history of the country has been one of civil war and corruption. In spite of that Carl says: “In the Congo I was surprised to see that people still manage to retain an incredible joie de vivre. When you visit these places, it is as if nothing has happened.”
Carl De Keyzer’s approach diverges substantially from that of press photographers. His vision is personal, not objective and can raise questions rather than supply answers. “I like visitors to my exhibitions to ask questions on leaving them. My projects are more like essays, novels or films.”
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