Jelle Van Hulle is a Belgian artist born in 1978 in the city of Bruges. After his graduation and master in audiovisual arts in Brussels, he expands his artistic universe with photographs, mixed media works, videos which are selected
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“Opia” is a set of images that shows a world of fairy tales and belief, or what we can see in between. …is a quest for the fascination that we can only experience if we leave the beaten track and venture into the woods. . - J. V. Hulle
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Jelle Van Hulle is a Belgian artist born in 1978 in the city of Bruges. After his graduation and master in audiovisual arts in Brussels, he expands his artistic universe with photographs, mixed media works, videos which are selected for several european and american events, art galeries and festivals including the Gent international filmfestival.
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In the series of photographs entitled "Opia" Jelle Van Hulle demonstrates an approach to photography for which this medium becomes a vehicle to tell of a world in which man is immersed in his beliefs, fantasies and folk tales. Jelle's images are well away from the idea of a photograph who shows facts and reality, his pictures tell of an illusory world, an interest which goes back to the history of photography, refering to the practices of those artists and photographers who first understood the great photographic potential. Photography as a medium that allows man to penetrate more easily into those fantastic worlds, and allows us to feed our illusions and imagination of which man has always been fed.
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L.A.: Jelle, how and when did you become interested in photography?
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Jelle Van Hulle: I’ve wanted to become an artist since I was little. It’s something fundamental for me, and photography is one of the media to express myself. I’ve made my first photographs and diapositives when I was 14 and since then, photography is something that I’m using frequently. Sometimes as a project, sometimes as a part of a mixed media project.
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L.A.: Can you tell us a little about your personal project "Opia"? What led to this project?
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Jelle Van Hulle: “Opia” is a set of images that shows a world of fairy tales and belief, or what we can see in between. Images full of astonishment and beauty, but at the same time turbulent. A quest for the fascination that we can only experience if we leave the beaten track and venture into the woods.
“Opia” means “The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable”.
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Untitled Tree
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L.A.: How do you choose what or who to photograph, what are you looking to capture?
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Jelle Van Hulle: Present-day photographic trends are often realistic and objective, while during the history of photography illusion and atmosphere have always been predominant. With his powerful editing and pictures that are often both suggestive and romantic, I work within a rich tradition. And the spectator looks into and through my eyes.
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L.A.: Do you have a favorite shot in this series? If so, which one and why?
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Jelle Van Hulle: All the pictures of Opia are sentences, fragments of a larger story. I can’t choose a favorite shot because there all equal. Every picture is a little bit magical.
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Untitled Cloud │ Buy it
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Untitled Bear and Woman
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L.A.: How does this project relate to other work or project you have done?
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Jelle Van Hulle: Every project is a new start, with fresh eyes and a empty head. So, It don’t relate itself to other projects.
Altough, you can say that starting from scratch is an artistic statement. And every time I’ve finished a project, I’ll start with an empty box.
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L.A.: What are you busy doing in this period? Have you any future project?
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Jelle Van Hulle: : I’m working on several projects. Some of the projects are started 6 years ago and still progressing, some are just some free thoughts on paper. Everything depends on my mood and the collaboration with galleries and/or musea. For the moment, I’m presenting “Opia”, “Cassandra” and my mixed media projects “Videostills” and “Ex-posed”.
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Untitled Bunny
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Untitled Car
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Jelle Van Hulle www.jellevanhulle.be
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