Two series of such ‘photographic illustrations’ form the basis for the exhibition. The Weather Project shows how the environment looks during attacks by wind, lightening or water. Heyman spends long periods – sometimes weeks at a time – on his theatrical decors; the end result is the photo. We also see the same image in his videos, but becalmed yet surrounded by a mysterious, moving environment. During the process, the artist also makes drawings that arise associatively from the work. In The Roof Top Project we see a simple roof that can protect or conceal something else: everywhere, any time. Beneath it, new situations constantly arise: painfully recognizable or poignantly tender.
Frederik Heyman
Frederik Heyman (Antwerp, 1984) studied graphic and illustrative design at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, and obtained a second master’s degree in photography at the same institution. As well as an independent artist, he is also a fashion photographer, whereby he works in the same stylised way. In all of his work, he devotes painstaking care to the dressing of both people and decor. Heyman says: ‘My images can be seen as illustrations as well as photos. They always take the same starting point, although the translations for particular media can vary.’