Sense of Place: Images of European Landscape

 

14.06. - 16.09. 2012 

BOZAR: Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels

 

Petra Koštrun is taking part in significant group exhibition of European contemporary Photography organised by Centre for Fine Arts BOZAR in Bruxelles.

The central exhibition of the Summer of Photography biennale brings together around 160 landscape photos by over 40 contemporary European photographers, including Olafur Eliasson, Andreas Gursky, Massimo Vitali, Pedro Cabrita Reis, and Carl De Keyzer. 

Central to the programme is the exhibition Sense of Place: European Landscape Photography being held at the Centre for Fine Arts. With around 160 pieces by 40 European photographers, the exhibition paints a picture of the diversity of national and regional landscapes within the European Union. The exhibition simultaneously focuses on the similarities and differences across Europe, both in the landscapes and in the attitude of people towards those landscapes. The works are divided into three main areas within Europe: North, Central, and South. Curator Liz Wells, Professor in Photographic Culture at Plymouth University, selected works by young talents as well as by internationally renowned photographers. Through their pictures, they each provide a personal vision of the landscapes of their homeland.  

Sense of Place is built around three key themes. The first of these is the concept of the national landscape, situated within the wider context of Europe. National and regional identities arise historically in part from a common relationship within a region and from the degree of dependence on that place. With its diversity of climate, agriculture, population density, and natural resources, Europe is characterized by enormously varied landscapes geologically, agriculturally and sociologically.

The exhibition explores ways in which cultural differences persist despite the political and economic unity that now exists across national boundaries. The second theme has its roots in the wider debate surrounding the aesthetics of landscape photography and the concept of “place”. Places gain significance through the stories that are told about them and through the manner in which they are represented. How does contemporary photography contribute to forming perceptions of our environment? The third and final theme suggests more philosophical approaches to the relationship between people and nature. Nowadays, many areas of Europe are highly urbanized, marked by legacies of Western industrialism and by the office, service and retail centres that characterize the post-industrial economy. We may have a less immediate relationship to the natural environment than our predecessors, yet images of nature continue to affect us spiritually and to influence and inspire our sense of identity, personally, nationally and regionally.

 

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