Sybren Vanoverberghe

Sybren Vanoverberghe (°1996, Kortrijk) is an artist based in Ghent, Belgium. The work of Vanoverberghe shows the landscape in a constant state of change. The correlation between place and time is shown in images where history, nature and heritage collide into each other. The photographs of Vanoverberghe have been made at places with historical importance as well as at ordinary sites. In his work questions are raised regarding the importance of icons. His work is showing presets of existing structures confronted with what can be seen as artefacts of the future. There’s no chronological order in the work of Vanoverberghe, certain images represent a past that has never existed. In his books, Vanoverberghe often works around the cyclical aspect of certain sites that are no longer geographically situated. The work provides hypothetical questions that go back and forth in time in an equal measure. When can an image be seen as a document of the past and when can it be seen as a prophecy for the future? There is a constant tension between accepting images that are seen as documents of the past and denying images that are seen as prophecies for the future. Vanoverberghe his work has been published in books such as ‘2099’ (2018) and ‘Conference of the Birds’ (2019) by APE (Art Paper Editions). He has received the ‘Prix Horlait Dapsens’ and is part of the ‘.tiff’ selection by FOMU Antwerp. He had exhibitions at Stieglitz19 (Antwerp, Belgium), the Unseen Photo Fair (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), the Cultural Centre of Yangzhou (China) and collaborated with fashion brand Ann Demeulemeester. His work has been published on American Suburb X, Photoworks UK, De Standaard, Paper Journal, De Volkskrant, GUP Magazine and the PHmuseum. He co-founded artist run spaces Pinguin (Brussels, Belgium) and NO/Gallery (Ghent, Belgium).