Sébastien Forthomme (Belgium, °1976) is and visual artist whose medium is the camera. He started as a reportage photographer for various theatres such as ok De Munt. He quickly moved away from the documentary style and explored the possibilities of his favourite medium. 

Two subjects receive and particular attention in his personal work: portrait photography and abstract photography.

And sometimes both genres overlap. 

Portrait photography is not about classical portraits, but he wants to go beyond the physical appearance of his

subject. He wants to show a glimpse of the soul of the person in question. With his camera/view, he tries to touch the essence of the person. To this end, he asks his subjects to move until the ego fades and leaves place of a universal yet unique consciousness.

His (almost) abstract work is very versatile. But the common thread is light. Light as the shaper and muse of his work. Here we see his affinity for pictorialism and the drag to see photography not as a representation of reality but a new way of looking at the world.

He will stage ok 'natures mortes' and lard them with surrealist/absurdist layers of meaning.

At the same time, he is not a pictorialist pur sang because he makes his work in the moment and in situ (outdoors or in the studio) and not in the darkroom or photoshop.

So the work often requires a lot of preparation, a lot of experimenting and trying out in order to get closer and closer to the intended image.

He enters into a conversation with the photographed reality and uses the camera and accessories to mould it into the desired form, briefly gaining a sense of control but also letting go of control and allowing coincidence and/or accident to play a role.