LAYERS OF BELIEF

Echoing the exhibition "The Skeptics - Study of an Optical Phenomenon" presented at the Institut pour la photographie, this new solo show by David De Beyter at Galerie Bacqueville brings together a selection of works exhibited at Paris Photo 2023.

"Layers of Belief" is an extension of David De Beyter's research into the notion of "phenomena", whether chemical - in relation to the medium of photography itself -, sociological - taking as his subject the community of ufologists who search the globe for traces of extraterrestrial life -, or scientific - with those skeptical experts who, through images, attempt to deconstruct and render factitious the modern myth of UFOs. David De Beyter's experimentation with the image-making process also shows us the extent to which photography remains an issue of belief.

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Exhibition from 7 to 23 December 2023.
Opening on Thursday 7 December. 6pm - 9pm.
 

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Institute for Photography, Lille
David De Beyter - "The Skeptics. Study for an Optical Phenomenon".
Until 24 December 2023

 

As part of its autumn program, the Institut pour la photographie is dedicating one of its exhibitions, "The Skeptics - Study for an Optical Phenomenon", to David De Beyter, winner of the Institut's grant on the theme "Photography and visual culture of the imaginary in 2020".

This project, combining photography, archival images and immersive video installation, explores the field of scientific ufology, a pseudo-science dedicated to the study of UFOs. By deliberately replaying the photographic errors and accidents regularly interpreted as proof of extraterrestrial existence by ufologists, David De Beyter recreates the narrative of a contemporary mythology - that of UFOs - in order to better deconstruct it.

Curator: Anne Lacoste, Director of the Institut pour la photographie

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Image above : Magical Place VII (détail), 2022. 2 x 150 x100 cm

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Image below : View of the exhibition "The Skeptics - Study for an Optical Phenomenon", Institut pour la photographie. Photo: eiio studio