I EYE CONTACT

ANDREAS WEINAND I

> from January 16 to March 9 2008

Biography (in French only)

Andreas personal site includes an English bio


“Good day madam, good day sir, would it be possible to take a
photo of you? Could you stay as you are? Just look into the
camera as if you were looking into a mirror, and be natural.”
This is the magic formula with which Andreas Weinand
approaches people on the street, people who become his
models for a brief moment in time.

Those approached often ask him why he wants to take the
photo. He explains that he is an artist who had been invited to
reside for a period in Brussels and that his project consists in
observing passers-by as he walks through the streets of
Brussels, to catch their eye, to gage the emotions, and to ask
those whose faces “captivate” him if he may take a portrait of
them.

When they accept, and are in front of the camera, Weinand
explains what he is doing with the few words of French he has
learnt for the occasion or, at times, simply with gestures.

Thereafter, speed is the key: focused, his eye against the
viewfinder, the distance preset to one metre, the photographer
moves quickly around until the framing is right. “Could you
look towards the camera please…?” He checks the light, the
expression, the energy, and shoots. The passer-by occasionally
agrees to a second shot, but rarely any more, and then goes on
his or her way.

Andreas Weinand is from the documentary school of
photography and was trained at the GHS Essen, formerly
Folkwang School (Germany).
His previous works are centred on village fetes and the life of
agricultural workers, a combination of landscapes and
portraits in situ; he would photograph his subjects as they
went about their everyday tasks.

The work embarked upon during his artist’s residence in
Brussels is a whole new experience in the sense that he comes
face to face with an unknown person, encountered by chance;
the challenge is to construct the image in these peculiar
circumstances and to take an instant portrait, capturing the
expression. The photographer plans to continue with this
approach in different cities of Europe.

For Andreas Weinand “photography offers an element of
freedom. We travel the world and show it to others…”.

Jean-Louis Godefroid
Based on an interview with Andreas Weinand,
September 2007

This itinerant exhibition forms part of the Artist-in-Residence Programme launched by Contretype, with the
support of the French Community Commission (COCOF) of the
Brussels Capital Region.

Translation: Louise Durkin