In a few words, who are you?
Priscilla De Brabandere, Belgian artist and photographer, born on 3 March 1970 in Brussels, I have lived many lives in one. My faithful companion on the road is my camera. It allows me to stop time, to reconnect with nature, to reveal the spirit of things and above all to go beyond appearances.
"The invisible becomes visible".
When and how did you get into photography?
As a little girl, I was fascinated by the photos my aunt brought back from her travels in Africa and Asia. From my godfather, her husband, I received the magnificent Canon AE1. I was launched! I vibrate when I photograph people, whether they are individuals or groups. It is as if I am then invited to enter into their intimacy. Photography gives me a lot of joy when I bring people together forever, creates a bond, and reveals the light part of humans.
And today what makes your art unique?
A determining moment in my passion was when I discovered, while photographing elements of nature such as water, trees, plants, or landscapes, that my pictures go beyond what our eyes can perceive. My camera is such a revealer of the mystery and spirit of things. It allows us to lift the veils on universes invisible to our eyes.
Strange characters appear stealthily through the gushing water. The heather turns into princesses. The wise eye of a tree questions us about our destiny and our interaction with Nature.
It is touching to observe a multitude of universes offering themselves to our gaze and with them the hope that our world remains full of possibilities and "unexpected".
My artistic approach invites you to enter into magic, to travel in imaginary worlds, to feel the enchantment, and above all to remember that "The essential is invisible to the eyes" as Antoîne de Saint-Exupéry expressed it.
What does this discipline bring you?
A lot of joy, a feeling of accomplishment when my photographs allow me to connect the eye to the heart.
It also makes me understand that the worlds I encounter outside me are also present within me. So there is a kind of mirror game between the outside world and the inside world. Everything is in everything, and it's very challenging.
If you start from René Magritte's definition which says that "to be surreal is to banish from the mind the déjà vu and to seek the not yet seen", you are in the middle of surrealism. What does surrealism mean to you?
Surrealism opens the gaze, expands the consciousness, proposes other realities that we may just not be used to seeing, but are just waiting to be discovered. The universe has not finished surprising us...
Why is surrealism important?
It allows us to remove all barriers, to get out of the known to open up to the unknown, to dare to surpass ourselves, to reinvent ourselves, to evolve, to get out of our comfort zone, to create the world of tomorrow, to open new paths, to envisage new perspectives... Today more than ever, in this time of pandemic, let's be bold and seize every opportunity to deploy our talents.
What do you like about Belgium that you can't find anywhere else?
Its motto: " Union makes strength" and I would say even more "Unity makes strength".
