BIEKE DEPOORTER AN EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHER Armando Jongejan FRPS

from RPS Benelux Chapter eJounal Volume 19 Summer 2020

by Royal Photographic Society

RPS DISTINCTIONS FACEBOOK GROUP Peter Hayes FRPS

The RPS Benelux Chapter MAGNUM PHOTOGRAPHER

Bieke Depoorter

“Photography guides me into the routes where I can stay amazed”

A full member of Magnum Photos

Bieke Depoorter (1986, Kortrijk - Belgium) received a master’s degree in photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent in 2009. Three years later aged just 25 years old, she was made a nominee of the photo cooperative Magnum Photos, where she was named a full member in 2016.

“Photography guides me into the routes where I can stay amazed” Bieke Depoorter

Several years ago I met Bieke Depoorter briefly during a presentation of her work in Amsterdam. During the presentation I was impressed by the way she made her series of her journey across Russia. She captured strangers at their homes as she traveled alone across Russia for her project 'Ou Menya'. She spent three periods of one month following the route of the Trans Siberian Express stopping at the forgotten villages along the way. She took a piece of paper with some Russian words and that was her introduction to visit local families. Once she reached a village, she would ask residents if she could stay with them, moving from living room to living room each night. For a brief moment, she experienced a transient, but very powerful, shared moment.

The men had arranged a small party for Bieke

For example, she spoke about a meeting with two men on the train. They had a talk and the men invited her to stay in the next village the following day. She said that she was a bit uncertain, but the next day she arrived in the Russian village and both men took her in their car to their home. What I can remember from her presentation is that she felt a bit uncomfortable when they drove outside the village in the direction of a big barn but when she entered the barn, she was even more surprised, as the men had arranged a small party for Bieke. She had not expected this but it was the way she captured daily life along the Trans Siberian Express.

Photobook Ou Menya

She is not just a fly on the wall observer but completely involved and accepted in the communities to create her images. The result of this journey is an impressive photobook Ou Menya, for which she received the HP Magnum Expression Award.

Depoorter has won several awards and honours, including The Larry Sultan Award and the Prix Levallois as well as publishing four books: Ou Menya, I am About to Call it a Day, As it May Be, and Sète #15.

Bieke Depoorter is unique as a storyteller and the way she tells the story of her subjects. Her series based in Egypt and the USA are made with the same intensity and involvement. Bieke Depoorter is an extraordinary photographer, one of a kind! For more information about Bieke and her books, visit: www.biekedepoorter.com www.magnumphotos.com