Vincen Beeckman - Ping Pong
Vincen Beeckman (°1973, Belgium) is a photographer who connects people. His life is filled with encounters. He invests time in building good communication channels by being repeatedly present - if only briefly. Chance meetings turn into long-term relationships.
The Ping Pong exhibition provides an insight into four long-running projects that for the most part have existed side by side. Beeckman plays a sort of game of table tennis with the people he meets and the stories he records. The game and engagement only last as long as both sides keep the ball in the air.
Cracks is a wide-ranging introduction to a group of unhoused people who live around Brussels Central Station. Beeckman gave them disposable cameras that opened up an important exchange. Together they make a book and exhibitions. Every step of the process was a collaboration.
Les Intimes narrates the life story of a family from Mons. Beeckman plays the role of family photographer and is invited to every important event - be it a birthday, moving house, a wedding or even a funeral. At first this is only at the request of the family, later also in a more organic way.
La Devinière is a psychotherapy near Charleroi where people with a mental illness live together. Beeckman has been a part of the community there for years, partying, playing and creating together.
At FOMU’s invitation, Beeckman plunged into the cultural scene around Studio Palermo, a multidisciplinary design agency in Antwerp that brings together tattoo art, illustration, music and fashion. One encounter led Beeckman to the next. This dynamic resulted in a kaleidoscopic and idiosyncratic portrayal of the port city.
Ping Pong is Vincen Beeckman's first major museum exhibition.
