I am stupid. I gave as the author of an astonishing photo shown at Paris Photo 2024 the name of a Belgian painter who died in 1949: James Ensor.
This astonishing photograph entitled The Seventh Seal is actually by Bart Ramakers.
To make up for it, here is a portfolio of his work. As well as a text describing his photographic approach.
Jean-Jacques Naudet
Bart Ramakers and his artistic team are a creative force in their own right. As storytellers, they bring modern interpretations of ancient mythological themes to life through photographic scenes that often carry double meanings and subtle winks. Alongside his partner Sofie Baert and their dedicated team of stylists, makeup artists, and models, they form a close-knit family. While they occasionally venture into video and sculpture, they always return to the sensitive plate of photography, where they explore chiaroscuro and theatricality.
Ramakers reinterprets classical mythological and religious themes through the lens of contemporary issues such as gender concerns, climate change, and social inequality. His work often nods to art history but consistently emphasizes what unites us all: our shared humanity, connection, and solidarity. He aims to link individuals through his art, fostering a sense of community and infusing his creations with a distinctive Belgian humor.
Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb once asserted, “The world of the imagination is fancy-free and violently opposed to common sense,” and this is precisely the world Ramakers seeks to help us reconnect with—a realm where everything imaginable is real and where we are liberated from repressive norms, moral constraints, and puritanical views, allowing us the freedom to discover our true selves.
Bart has exhibited his work countless times both domestically and internationally, and has published several books. Recently, he and his artistic team have ventured into profound inquiries surrounding the origins of life, the human condition, and the age-old debate of free will versus destiny.
Every project is prepared like a theatre play or a film. From the initial idea to the final result, collaboration is key, primarily with production manager Sofie Baert for the selection of models and collaborators, props, costumes, and location. Tim Buelens and Marc Smeets are constants for lighting and digital assistance. The 100 MP Phase One is connected to a 27” iMac so that the finest details can be observed during the shoot, which is no luxury when working with five or more models. The Schneider-Kreuznach 80mm is their fetish lens, and for lighting, they swear by Elinchrom flash heads, usually with barndoors or softboxes to use the light as precisely and directly as possible. Props are collected from antique dealers and bric-a-brac sellers or bought for the purpose, background fabrics are printed… no effort is too great to make the picture come together. For their models, makeup artists, stylists, and decorators, Sofie and Bart draw from their network according to the challenge, which has nearly become a family, as the shoots take a full day, with meals shared and stories exchanged. It’s no wonder that there is great trust and that models gladly add their own personal artistic contribution to put a little extra into their performance, making the final result all the more magical. Bart Ramakers: “Only when everything is prepared down to the last detail can I focus on the unexpected during the shoot, on that little extra that makes the final result even exceed my expectations.”
The Seventh Seal is a new work first shown at Paris Photo 2024, where it attracted a lot of attention and admiration. A sportive surf girl meets Ingmar Bergman, Hans Holbeins Totentanz and the archetypes of the Tarot. Ramakers persistently seeks answers to the challenges of our complex and chaotic society through his various projects. With a mix of beauty and humor, he reinterprets classical fables and myths in his search for new meanings and relationships. Where the temporary and the eternal, the sensory and the elusive intersect, where dreams and reality compete against each other, Ramakers shapes his parables of hope, comfort, and love.
Bart Ramakers is represented by Galerie P. Oostende, Galerie Jos Depypere in Kuurne, and Galerie Baudoin Lebon in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.
Bart Ramakers
www.bartramakers.com
