Daphne van de Velde (images 1-8) & Sayuri Ichida (images 9-19) at IN-DEPENDANCE during PhotoBrussels
In this second contribution on the exhibition we will be talking about Daphne van de Velde & Sayuri Ichida, two fascinating artists.
We have been following Daphne van de VELDE (1973) for quite a while: this artist enriches the expression of photography and, in addition to photographic work, also creates video, mixed media, and sculptures. If you are looking for an explanation for this original and broad creative vision, it is probably not that difficult to find: with a fourfold background in contemporary dance, architecture, monumental arts, and photography, she succeeds in combining all these sources of inspiration. The result is surprising images in a fascinating, highly authentic visual language and composition. She successfully exhibited her most recent monumental sculptures under the title ‘Penthesilea’ at the Approche salon during Paris Photo in 2025. For PhotoBrussels 2026, she delves into the genesis of her contemporary oeuvre – into the primordial soup, the Kaos.
Not only her education and the design of her works are relevant to understanding her oeuvre. At first glance, you might simply reduce her work to photographs of dance/ballet, but for Daphne, practising dance and photographing dancers is a way to reclaim her rightful place in the world. And that in a world dominated by men, where female identity is barely accepted, where boundaries are frequently crossed (physically, morally and emotionally), where women are left behind with scars.
Through her art, Daphne van de Velde finds a way to heal her scars and accept her identity. In other words, it is a poetic, activist reflection on being a woman in contemporary society.
Just before Approche 2025, she released a new publication, “Of Me and You – On the Threshold of Intimacy”, which is available for viewing and purchase at the exhibition: definitely worth a look!
The work of Daphne van de Velde is also to be seen at
- Art on Paper Amsterdam 13-15 februari 2026: 11:00 – 19:00 Booth Gallery De Baas, De Kromhouthal, Gedempt Hamerkanaal 231, 1021 KP Amsterdam
- Art Rotterdam 27- 29 maart, 11.00 – 19.00u, bij Black Swan Gallery in Rotterdam Ahoy
Ahoyweg 10, 3084 BA Rotterdam
https://www.daphnevandevelde.nl/
Sayuri ICHIDA (1985) has been featured several times in L’Oeil de La Photographie / Eye of Photography. She studied photography in Tokyo, where she graduated in 2006, and then began a career in fashion photography in London. She then moved to New York, where she began working on the Absentee series in the midst of the Covid pandemic. This series focuses on loss, mortality, the transience of our existence, and her own place in the world.
She had lost her mother in her teens and suppressed her feelings about it. The isolation in the big city during COVID-19 confronted her with her unprocessed past. She responded by creating images: for example, she photographed her body and placed it in relation to (inconspicuous) everyday objects that surround us. The intensity of the feelings and the changing moods lead to a strong duality, such as the soft curves of the body versus the hard lines of man-made objects, light images versus dark images, negatives versus positive prints.
As she herself puts it:
“We have a tendency to neglect our own mortality. Our attempts to evade death thoughts are inevitably challenged, and we are forced to acknowledge our own fragility. A visceral recognition surfaces at times, reminding us of the transience of life.”
Just before this exhibition, she also presented a new book: Ctrl Shift + J. A beautiful publication that can be viewed and purchased during the exhibition.
Land & Bodyscapes – Hopstreet Gallery/In-dependance Gallery by Ibasho
Albarrán Cabrera (SP), Ingrid Dorner (FR), Sayuri Ichida (JP/UK), Hideyuki Ishibashi (JP/FR), Anton Kusters (BE), Gert Motmans (BE), Thomas Vandenberghe (BE) and Daphne van de Velde (NL).
11 January till 7 March 2026.
Rivoli Brussels (space #44 – Hopstreet Gallery)
Sint Jorisstraat 109 / Rue St Georges 109
1050 Brussels
John Devos
