Bruno V. Roels - Desertwave 2, 2023

Bruno V. Roels

Woke Up Laughing

02/12/2023

17/02/2024

FIFTY ONE

Opening: Saturday, December 2nd from 2-6 pm, in the presence of the artist.

For his fifth solo exhibition at Gallery FIFTY ONE, Belgian artist Bruno V. Roels (°1976) presents new work and delves further into the possibilities of the analog photographic process. In ‘Woke Up Laughing’, his images navigate between aesthetics and experimentation, escapism and a historical consciousness.

Inspired by artists like John Baldessari (1931-2020) and Ed Ruscha (°1937), who approached photography in a conceptual manner, Roels also questions the properties of the image: how it operates, influences, and deceives. What defines photography as photography? And how do viewers interpret it, in an era marked by image manipulation and production, where visual communication sets the tone? These are significant questions embedded in his body of work.

While Roels’ artistic practice is primarily rooted in analog photography, he combines analog techniques with other art forms, non-photographic processes, or Artificial Intelligence and generative imaging. This allows the artist’s imagination to reach its peak, as nothing is deemed impossible. Additionally, the artist plays with the reproducible nature of the medium, creating unique works often consisting of multiple variations of the same negative, compiling them as equivalent images within the same frame, rendering no image perfect or superior to another. He also produces overprints, where the same negative is printed several times, causing the images to blend. The yellowed, coffee- coloured prints give his work a recognizable vintage look. Artistic imperfections and incidental elements, such as creases and stains that occur during printing, remain visible and characterize his visual language. By imprinting text on the prints or by drawing and painting on them, Roels adds surreal elements and layers of meaning.

Read the full press release here (ENG).
Lees de volledige perstekst hier (NL).

Installation View: Bruno V. Roels, Woke Up Laughing, 2023
Installation View: Bruno V. Roels, Woke Up Laughing, 2023
Installation View: Bruno V. Roels, Woke Up Laughing, 2023
Installation View: Bruno V. Roels, Woke Up Laughing, 2023

Bruno V. Roels

Bruno Roels divides his time between writing and photographing. He considers the act of printing (turning a photograph into a tangible object) as important as the act of photographing itself. He photographs almost nonstop, documenting his entire life, building a sizable archive. In his dark room he uses that archive to explore the analogue photographic process. Rather than trying to make ‘the perfect gelatin silver print’ he assumes that all prints are perfect and gives all variations equal attention.

He’s looking for poetry, and photographic truth, in sequences and fluctuations. Details in his photographs may become lead motives in bigger compositions, and obvious subject matter is reduced to abstract information through numerous reiterations.

biography

Born in 1976 in Belgium
Lives and works in Ghent, Belgium

Visit artist website here

View an overview of the 28 Vignon Street edition ‘Flowers for Henriette’ here

Bruno V. Roels - These Flowers I Make #1, 2024, Inkjetprint on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 70 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree (Palmographs #1)
Bruno V. Roels - A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree (Palmographs #1), 2019, Composition of 56 silver gelatin palmographs, 186 x 130 cm
Getting away from the tyranny of viewfinders

The American conceptual artist Baldessari warned against the “tyranny of camera viewfinders and rectangular boxes of enlarging papers”. He had a valid point; a lot of photography is defined by the camera used, the film (or technology) in that camera, and the paper the photographs are printed on. Bruno V. Roels was frustrated by this and started researching ways to get more out of the process. Not just to be ‘different’ but to get away from ‘the tyranny’ of normal photography.
Roels found that the very act of developing and printing analogue photography offers endless ways to be free, artistically.

All prints have value

Instead of fussing over making the perfect gelatin silver print, for example, Roels realized that all printed versions of an image have value, and he decided to not show that one perfect print, but all of them, in one composition. Some of his compositions consist of hundreds variations of one single negative, all printed in the dark room.
Photography is a mimetic art, it imitates life. But Roels pushes it further: when printing variants of one image; he creates a mimetic feedback loop. The prints are not just interpretations of a reality, but of themselves as well.

Bruno V. Roels - The Edge Of The Jungle (An Golden Day Quickly Spent), 2023, Composition of four inkjetprints on HM photo rag ultra smooth 305g/m2 with acrylic paint, metallic paint, wax oil pastel and gravure ink, 120 x 80 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Stacking Potassium, 2023, Graphite on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Woke Up Laughing (Dreaming Dioramas), 2023, Inkjetprint on HM photo rag ultra smooth 305g/m2, 140 x 100 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Woke Up Laughing (Dreaming Dioramas), 2023, Inkjetprint on HM photo rag ultra smooth 305g/m2, 140 x 100 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Desertwave, 2023, Composition of 9 gelatin silver prints, 128 x 97 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Desertwave, 2023, Composition of 9 gelatin silver prints, 128 x 97 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Dreaming Dioramas #2, 2023, Lino cut print on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - But That Was In Another Country, 2023, Acrylic paint on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Dreaming Dioramas (Deconstructed), 2023, Composition of 12 gelatin silver prints, 40 x 62 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Dreaming Dioramas (Deconstructed), 2023, Composition of 12 gelatin silver prints, 40 x 62 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Archetypes, 2022, Composition of 2 gelatin silver prints, 53 x 36 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Rescue From Without, 2023, Acrylic paint on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Rescue From Without, 2023, Acrylic paint on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Giving Back Color #1, 2023, Wax oil pastel on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Giving Back Color #1, 2023, Wax oil pastel on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Supernatural Aid, 2023, Graphite on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Magic Lantern (Palmographs), 2023, Composition of 40 gelatin silver prints, 75 x 64 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Magic Lantern (Palmographs), 2023, Composition of 40 gelatin silver prints, 75 x 64 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Figura Serpentinata (Demeter), 2023, Acrylic paint on a digital print, 75 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Figura Serpentinata (Demeter), 2023, Acrylic paint on a digital print, 75 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Lying About Our Past #1, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Lying About Our Past #1, 2022, Acrylic paint on an inkjet print on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 130 x 100 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Lying About Our Past #4, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Lying About Our Past #4, 2022, Wax oil pastel on an inkjetprint (HM photo rag ultra smooth 305 g/m²), 110 x 150 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Colors I Stole, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - The Colors I Stole, 2022, Ink on a composition of gelatin silver prints, 40 x 30 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Colors I Stole #2, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - The Colors I Stole #2, 2022, Ink on a composition of gelatin silver prints, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Bay (Time), 2022
Bruno V. Roels - The Bay (Time), 2022, Gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Do Not Swear By The Moon #4, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Do Not Swear By The Moon #4, 2022, Gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Colors Of Como, 2022, Ink on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Sin Eaters, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - The Sin Eaters, 2022, Pastel on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Untitled (Sampling Inaccurately But Getting The Gist Of It), 2022, Oil-based marker on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - 2022158--Valueless As A Dye #1, 2022, Gelatin silver paper, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #23, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #23, 2022, Handpainted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #19, 2022, Handpainted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #13 (No Worries), 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #13 (No Worries), 2022, Handpainted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #20, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #20, 2022, Lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #9, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #9, 2022, Hand painted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #7, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #7, 2022, Hand painted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #6, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #6, 2022, Hand painted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #8, 2022
Bruno V. Roels - Looking For Paradise #8, 2022, Hand painted lettering on a gelatin silver print, 40 x 50 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Gold Giant #5, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Gold Giant #5, 2021, Inkjetprint on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 76 x 60 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Gold Giant #8, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Gold Giant #8, 2021, Inkjetprint on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 76 x 60 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Not All Alone Unhappy, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Not All Alone Unhappy, 2021, Gelatin silver print, 42,5 x 32,5 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Nights Weigh Heavy, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Nights Weigh Heavy, 2021, Composition of two gelatin silver prints, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Sometimes My Arms Bend Back, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Sometimes My Arms Bend Back, 2021, Inkjetprint on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 145 x 110 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Banana Cup Champion, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - Banana Cup Champion, 2021, Inkjetprint on Hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 145 x 110 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Fake Billboards (Tanit), 2022, Gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Fake Billboards (Anomie) #3, 2020
Bruno V. Roels - Fake Billboards (Anomie) #3, 2020, Black Indian ink on gelatin silver print, 55 x 45 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Untitled (Square Of Flowers), 2020
Bruno V. Roels - Untitled (Square Of Flowers), 2020, Gelatin silver print, 40 x 35 cm
Bruno V. Roels - An Ornament For A Summer’s Day #2, 2022, Composition of 6 gelatin silver prints, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree, 2021, A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree Is A Palm Tree, 136,5 x 100 cm
Bruno V. Roels - 16 Trees, 2021
Bruno V. Roels - 16 Trees, 2021, Composition of 16 gelatin silver prints, 72 x 58 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Among The Winds At Play (1), 2019
Bruno V. Roels - Among The Winds At Play (1), 2019, Overprints on gelatin silver paper, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Explosions Over Calm Seas, 2019
Bruno V. Roels - Explosions Over Calm Seas, 2019, composition of 3 gelatin silver prints with ink, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Returning The Favor, 2022, Ecoline on a gelatin silver print, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - A Guide To Cherry Blossoms (Red & Orange), 2019
Bruno V. Roels - A Guide To Cherry Blossoms (Red & Orange), 2019, ink on overprinted gelatin silver paper, 46 x 36 cm
Bruno V. Roels - La Goulue, 2020
Bruno V. Roels - La Goulue, 2020, Black Indian ink on gelatin silver print, 40 x 45 cm
Bruno V. Roels - Looking Back In Anger, 2018
Bruno V. Roels - Looking Back In Anger, 2018, Composition of 2 overprinted gelatin silver papers, 50 x 40 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Pyramids And Palm Trees Test, 2018
Bruno V. Roels - The Pyramids And Palm Trees Test, 2018, Two framed compositions of 64 gelatin silver prints each, 100 x 160 cm
Bruno V. Roels - The Pyramids And Palm Trees Test, 2018
Bruno V. Roels - The Pyramids And Palm Trees Test, 2018, Two framed compositions of 64 gelatin silver prints each, 100 x 160 cm