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chris t o p h e d e m a t re
selected works 2005-2007
E d i t i n g b y Wa r e h o u s e S t u d i o f o r I s l a n d 6 A r t s C e n t e r
Graphic Design by Lucas Gurdjian
English introduction by Alexandra Verhaest
French introduction by Olivia Gurdjian
We b w w w . i s l a n d 6 . o r g / w w w . wa r e h ou s e s t u d i o . o r g
by Roland Barthes
n the few years of studying photography, I have developed a special weakness for nine teenth century images. Those first photographs ever taken, still hold the alchemy that
photography once was. I wonder how it must have felt to be the first to experience that
magical chemical process. A ghost of the image appearing on the paper in the development
bath, as if it were covered in fog which slowly dissolves until the picture reaches its full
density. Perhaps Nicephore Niepce thought, as Roland Barthes argues in Camera Lucida,
that it was an instant painting. It had the same framing, the same perspective as a painted
image, with only the brushstrokes missing. My personal magical moment of developing a
picture for the first time has since long passed. But perhaps that particular moment is what
drives us photographers. Whenever I go hunting for that one shot, it is the longing for
that magic, not the rational consciousness that pushes the button. Failing to find that
ultimate image which expresses it all is the twofold blessing that keeps us passionate.
As contemporary urban citizens, we are daily confronted with the millions of visual
stimuli. Few images force us to really look, most of them are even hardly noticed.
Being born in the digital age, my mind is spoiled (maybe in both meanings) with imagery. I can only dream of erasing that inner image bank, clearing it of contemporary refer ences. The innocence of wondering has disappeared. The moment is lost in a stream of mean ingless pictures. As hard as the advertising market tries to draw our attention, the more I
tend to overlook those billboa rds. Chocking images, like the universally loved or hated
Benetton advertising, dont stick anymore. They are based on a two second-snap effect of
getting the clue and remembering the brand. The only effect they had on me, over all these
years, is a diminishing attentio n span and a built-in filter against easily gained content.
However seldom, some con temporary images are still able to freeze my pace. They have
the same silent quality I find in some old photographs. A kind of timelessness, an alchemic
excellence, transforming metal into gold, moments into journeys.
I see Christophes work as a peregrinatio pro alchemia, the quest for the mercury,
a search for the lost magical moment. His pictures of contemporary cities, using the same
emulsions applied by those first photographers, travel between eras, one of alchemy, ob scurity and darkness and another one of fast movement, bright city lights and technology.
He captures the speed of the metropolis. Showing instants of urban life environments and
transforming them chemically into traveled stories. Railway-Brussels moves me in a very
personal way. The picture seems grated onto the canvas, like ongoing Belgian rainy days,
sad and beautiful in their melancholy. I can imagine Christophe taking this picture.
Wandering around the Bru ssels north station, lighting a cigarette under his coat and
then lighting it again when some raindrop soaked the ashes while he was looking up to the
sky. And then, in the midst of all this, discovering the dancing high voltage cables as the
veins of that eternal grey sky.
His paintings move me in a similar way. Bodies are shifting like shadows through the
canvas. They leave marks that ask questions about untold stories. He told me they are made
in instants, like snapshots of emotional outbursts. As spontaneous his paintings are made,
as carefully he composed his sculptures.
Joining unusual objet trouvs into new compositions, he seems to truly unveil his
personal desires. Like the wishes of a little boy playing in the attic and inventing his own
science. Playfully but carefully, he combines different materials into his own galaxy.
In his work, Christophe reveals himself as an alchemist of modern times, discovering
his own elixir; that of creating a stopover in this ever moving society.
A l e x a n d r a Ve r h a e s t
Shanghai, 2007/02/02
E
Lhomme photosensible
01
02
04
30
32
34
06
08
10
36
38
40
12
14
16
42
44
46
18
20
22
48
50
52
24
26
28
54
56
index
sculpture
12
lhomme de fer
brussels // 2005
150cm x 20cm // metal structure
14
planetarium
equilibrium
brussels // 2005
brussels // 2005
16
circles
brussels // 2005
120cm x 40cm // metal structure
18
poids ternel
monde perceptuel
brussels // 2005
brussels // 2005
20
photography
22
travelling
london // 2006
24
26
28
tianmuxi lu
shanghai // 2007
fietser
shanghai // 2007
30
rainy day
leaving
london // 2006
london // 2006
32
moganshan lu
shanghai // 2007
macao road
shanghai // 2007
34
metropolis
paseo de gracia
london // 2005
barcelona // 2006
36
t h e bund
shanghai // 2007
p i c cadilly
london // 2006
38
carsamba pazari
istanbul // 2006
40
mixedmedia
42
c i t y beat
shanghai // 2007
44
ra i n shadow
shanghai // 2007
46
w i t h a view
shanghai // 2007
48
I would like to thank all the people who helped realize this book, especially :
Harold & Elke Einsman, Thomas Charveriat, Margherita Salmaso, Yang Longhai,
Allard van Hoorn, Zu Yumei, Alexandra Verhaest, Lucas & Olivia Gurdjian,
friends & family.
Christophe Dematre
50
2007
2006
A R Ta n t i d e ,
ManaArt,
Shanghai - China
Brussels - belgium
Verona, Italy
Brussels, Belgium
Shanghai, China
K a f k a A wa r d , 1 s t M i n i s t e r C a b i n e t ,
christophe demaitre
2005
ARTEespace Jacqmotte,
Brussels, Belgium
ManaArt,
Brussels, Belgium
2004
ManaArt,
Brussels, Belgium
2003
Verona, Italy
pa i n t i ng , c h a r c oa l d r aw i ng , e ng r av i ng o n z i nc a n d p h o t o g -
Bonavigo, Italy
r a p h y . W h i l e l i v i n g a n d w o r k i n g i n S h a n g h a i , S a o Pa o l o a n d
Wa o u w G a l l e r y ,
Brussels, Belgium
2002
p e a n a r t h i s t o ry . H i s t r av e l s p r o f ou n d ly i n f l u e nc e d h i s
Brussels, Belgium
Barcelona, Spain
Mac-Mestissatge,
c r e at i v i t y . I n I n d o n e s i a h e wa s c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e p r i m i -
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Verona, Italy
t i v e c u l t u r e o f t h e M e n t a w a i s . Th e i r i m a g e c u l t u r e i n s p i r e d
h i m i n t h e s e a r c h f o r h i s d r a w i n g s t y l e . Th e A r t e P o v e r a ,
2001
Pa l a z z o C o r r e r ,
w h i c h h e d i s c ov e r e d i n B a r c e l o na , i n f l u e nc e d h i s way o f
of
fresco
painting.
Th e
metropol
of
Venice, Italy
S a n G i o V i d e o Fe s t i va l ,
Rome, Italy
A r t G a l l e r y S t u d i o Pa l a z z i ,
ferent
2000
Venice , Italy
Verona, ItalY
P a l a z z o C o r r e r , Venice, Italy
Rome, Italy
Verona, Italy
1998
work.
Th e a r t i s t c u r r e n t l y e x h i b i t s o n a r e g u l a r b a s i s i n i n ternational
Pa l a z o
art
Correr
shows
Ve n i c e ,
and
different
A R Ta n t i d e ,
galleries
Ve r o n a
and
such
as
Mac-
West-rand Gallery,
Brussels, Brussels
Trento, Italy
Verona, italy
1997
Teg.sequiz Museum,
1996
Magazijn theatre-gallery,
transylvania, Romania
Ghent, Belgium
t 120 Moganshan Rd, a lane leads onto a large open green area surrounded
b y t h e S u z h o u C r e e k . Th e r e , i n s e v e r e c o n t r a s t t o S h a n g h a i s e v e r - t o w e r i n g s k y scrapers, stands Island6, a four story red brick building. Its history : Shanghai
typical.
Island6 and its two neighboring buildings were established, like most flour
mills and breweries, along the Suzhou Creek at a time when the river nurtured a
m a j o r i n d u s t r i a l b a s e i n S h a n g h a i . Th e t h r e e b u i l d i n g s ( b u i l t 1 9 1 3 - 1 9 3 0 ) b e c a m e
p a r t o f a c o m p l e x , d e s i g n e d t o h o u s e t h e o f f i c e h e a d q u a r t e r s a n d d e p o t s o f Fo o
S i n g Fl o u r M i l l . S i g n e d b y A t k i n s o n & D a l l a s , a B r i t i s h a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d c i v i l
shanghai // 2007
engineering firm that thrived in the city during the early 1900s, the structures
to the support of its artists and to the constant initiation of site-specific projects. Island6s residency program allows artists from all over the world to come
t o S h a n g h a i a n d p r o d u c e l o c a l l y i n s p i r e d w o r k . Th e r e s i d e n c y f o c u s e s o n p r o d u c tion and is followed by an exhibition. Christophe Dematre completed two exhibitions during his residency at Island6.