It’s in the sumptuous gardens of the Musée van Buuren art deco villa in Brussels, the iconic address of the Brussels cultural scene, that the photographer Thierry Balasse is presenting his new photographic adventure, an invitation to a journey to the heart of the being.
Présences, it is a few moments face to face between the subject and the camera lens. After a moment of exchange followed by a few breaths or meditation conducive to relaxation, the photographer slips away to let silence prevail. Alone, each person has the experience of the presence of the self, while the camera is triggered discreetly to capture this moment of absolute calm.
Aesthetics are not at the centre of the project, rather the sense of the photographer’s approach leads to a reflection on the presence. The sight of each of his photographs takes us back initially to the emotion that drove us to that point. It is only afterwards that our mind is neutralised, calmed and by resonance comes close to the experience that is given to us in a mirror.
Thirty-three faces that express the energy of belonging, tenderness and love, strength and fragility, like links between the beings who, in the diversity of appearance express the uniqueness of presence. Unknown faces, others a little less so, like that of Thierry Janssen, doctor and psychotherapist, who is a partner in the project and who wrote the preface to the book in preparation, with about sixty portraits. “Presence to the self is, in fact, the presence of the Self: unconditional acceptance of what is, silence and calm, absolute confidence, emptiness filled with all the possibilities, experience of non-duality, a sense of being connected to everything that is, forgetting personal preoccupations in favour of universal interests. The eyes “listen” to everything that is without reaction, they open onto a vast internal space; you have the feeling of diving as into an ocean.” he stated.
Cilou de Bruyn
Cilou de Bruyn is an author and consultant in photography. She lives and works in Brussels in Belgium.
Thierry Balasse, Présences
From 14th to 22nd October 2017
Musée et Jardins van Buuren
41 avenue Léo Errera
1180 Bruxelles
Belgique
