Description
Title: “The Anthropocene along the Maelbeek” Once, the Maelbeek Valley was a long-cherished and useful wetland. Over the centuries, it was dominated by artisanal activities and urbanization, transforming the river into a sewer. The municipalities it crossed buried and imprisoned it, along with its sources, in a collector. It was underestimated, rejected. The era of the Anthropocene had begun! I photographed the anthropization of the valley but wanted to approach it with honesty, empathy, and humility… considering the valley not just as an object or a phenomenon to document. This is to question its possible evolution, to rethink the future of the valley by realigning with water and nature in this urbanized valley, restoring their place, restoring the ecological cycle… and above all, creating a natural-human-urban solidarity.
I wanted to photograph its various facets with the same attention, without distinction of status, built or natural, clean or less clean (non-soluble in the cycle of life). I want to make the presence of the valley, the vanished water, felt… I want to be faithful to the attachment I have for this valley and produce photos that can contribute to the fight that others have undertaken for its rehabilitation, suggesting a natural-urban solidarity.
In which valley would we like to live? This work is a reflection, an interrogation, and not advocacy for a good cause. I embarked on this project as an amateur, not as a scholar… it’s more for sharing that I show it… to perhaps inspire the visitor to continue this reflection. How will its inhabitants make it evolve? Work in progress.
Biography
Title: “The Anthropocene along the Maelbeek” Passionate about the evolution of our Earth in general, as well as at the local level, I enjoy sharing my observations through the medium of photography. My interest lies in the interdependence between humans and non-humans and the situation in the places I frequent, particularly my neighborhood and the Maelbeek Valley. My projects are carried out within the framework of the Contraste workshop in Etterbeek.
Works
