Can you tell us a bit about your artistic practice, in general?
Dieter Dejonghe (DD): Almost immediately after I first picked up a camera 6 years ago when I was 24, I discovered the expressive power of the image. In the Academy of fine arts in Kortrijk a whole world opened up to me, as I had never really taken a decent look at the visual arts. Slowly my vision on what I wanted to express through photography was put together. I got very interested in the concept of still images being able to carry mood and emotional experiences in them, in the same way that for example music can.
My primary objective became the viewer, not the subject. This led to my current and future photographic work that is, and probably will always be, a search for a way to convey a charged, silent and introvert experience to the viewer.
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Portrait', 2018
I've met and discussed your work in 2016 in Bruges. I was teamed up with Peter Waterschoot. What did you think about portfolio review and did it somehow influence your work?
I had never really shown my work before so i was very keen on getting honest and straightforward feedback from people who are sensitive to photography. Debating on the stronger and weaker aspects of my work opened up some new directions of thinking and hearing the first impressions of others made me take a different look onto my images. I also quickly noticed how different everyone's understanding of a body of work can be.
By looking at the two projects: ‘Okunoonya’ and 'Portrait'; is see a darkness which I very much appreciate, a bit gloomy and solitaire. Does this describe your work and persona? And what do you think about the oeuvre of Peter Waterschoot?
I have a primal urge to communicate with people, not through the use of words, but through the language of atmosphere. I feel like words are superficial and limited, so I try to look for some kind of universal experience that everyone understands.
It is always a pleasure to hear that people identify with the mood in the photos. To me it means I have achieved, in some kind of way, in passing along even the slightest hint of a subtle, silent experience through the use of a visual medium.
The ideal is to make the viewer identify deeply with the image he is looking at.
I like to think I am in search of some kind of recognition, to reflect myself to other individuals and to be able to share the delicate experience of being engulfed by a droning silence.
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Okunoonya', 2015
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Okunoonya', 2015
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Okunoonya', 2015
The gloom in the images is certainly a consequence of my persona. Lately I've been looking to release myself a bit from the sense of dreariness in the work and focus more on the state of heightened consciousness and contemplation. This does ask for a more conceptual approach which eventually resulted in abstract work, of which I haven't shown a lot of yet.
I have seen Peter's work several times over the past few years. I think our initial motivation for producing work is quite similar. His oeuvre is coherent and very well developed so I'm really interested to see what his future work will evolve into.
Who or what does influence your work in particular?
From early on I completely fell for the work of Todd Hido. His 'House Hunting' series attracted my initial attention but as his work grew on me over time, I started appreciating his portraits more. There are a ton of other photographers out there that produce amazing work, and I enjoy all types of photography, but actually most of my influences actually come for other arts.
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Portrait', 2018
I also find great inspiration in cinema. Michelangelo Antonioni for example, and many other directors who are masters of immersion in atmospheric bliss and visual storytelling. I find the same immersive experiences in minimalist or ambient music (both contemporary and classical) and color field painting.
What are your plans for the future?
Obviously making more work and trying to make it more mature and consistent. Continuing to develop a personal visual language that is able to reflect the silent and hazy states of mind I want to convey. I'm convinced this will be a very slow process which will need a lot of experimenting and will probably never reach perfection, but that's what actually makes it interesting. It is quite the challenge to visualise. Besides the personal work I have made, there has always been a desire to produce some documentary work, but it's hard for me to find a fitting subject that captivates me enough to start working on it.
© Dieter Dejonghe from the series 'Okunoonya', 2015
The 'Okunoonya' series is often being mistaken for some kind of documentary but it's actually just a simple search for intimate and silent moments in the bustling city of Kampala.
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