Bieke Depoorter

These photographs come from the book project As It May Be by the Belgian artist Bieke Depoorter. On each picture we see handwritten comments. Some look small and cautious, while others immediately catch the eye. Different people wrote these notes directly onto the pictures.

Depoorter took the photographs during and after the Arab Spring. She traveled to Cairo and deliberately sought out the daily life that takes place behind closed doors, rather than focusing on well-known scenes of major political events. She asked strangers if she could spend the night with their families. This gave rise to deeply personal images. At the same time, a certain hesitancy always remains. How close can people really become when they barely know each other? 

The artist later returned to Egypt with an initial draft of the photobook. She asked people from different social, cultural, and religious backgrounds to write their thoughts directly on the pictures. Some comments react to the photographs. Others respond to previous comments. In this way, conversations sometimes develop that extend beyond the images. 

Looking at the photographs raises the question of who actually owns the story behind a picture. The person holding the camera? The people in front of the camera? Or the people who later look at the picture?

Depoorter doesn’t give a clear answer. Instead, she shows that images can have many meanings. The comments complement each other, contradict one another, or open up entirely new perspectives. It is precisely this that keeps the photographs alive. They do not tell a self-contained story, but rather invite us to consider different perspectives side by side.