Bruno V. Roels | Portfolio
An excerpt from the portfolio of Bruno V. Roels in 1605 Magazine No.2 Illusion
Images: Bruno V. Roels
There’s no denying it. In Bruno V. Roels’s (b. 1976, Belgium) world, developing and printing a photograph is just as important as shooting the image. Process, for him, is imperative. There is no “perfect” gelatin silver print, but, rather, every print (possible imperfections and all) is just as it should be. Though he lives and works in Ghent, Roels is represented by Gallery FIFTY ONE in Antwerp and Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City. His work has received international acclaim.
Repetition and iteration are themes that appear over and over in Bruno V. Roels’s work. He’ll print hundreds of variations of one image in his darkroom to create a mimetic feedback loop, and he’ll use the same subject matter time and time again to tell entirely different stories. A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree (the title of Roels’s’ ever-growing series of photographs of palm trees). But, is it really? Is the spindly verdant palm of Monaco truly the same as the tall, spiky tree in Syria? Certainly not, if you ask Roels.
Most of his work buzzes quietly, subtly in black and white, but occasionally, there is a pop of primary colour or a splash of pastel that pulls the viewer in even further. He draws inspiration from the world around him, and he’s bewitched by the curves and lines of trees and plants. As with his repetitive prints, flora and fauna
appear in the world in infinite variation.
For full interview shop our print magazine online:
