Forgotten War Monuments
My first encounter with (the Antwerp-based photographer) Jan Kempenaers was through 'COMPOSITE'. Which was an experience of immediate gratification. It was during my visit to Powell's Bookstore in Oregon that I stumbled upon this intriguing photo book. The book, wrapped in a half-open, translucent plastic sleeve - scratches and smudges that only heightened my interest. The cover, visible through the wear, drew me in irresistibly.
The sense of isolation and desolation in these photographs is overwhelming. The monuments, once probably revered or at least acknowledged, now stand as silent witnesses to the relentless idea of “time”. They exist, yet they don't - their presence is spectral, enhanced by the photographer's deliberate distance. This framing creates a heightened feeling of inaccessibility, leaving us as mere observers of these relics. This is particularly evident in his photographs of historic war monuments. These monumental structures, set against mystique and nondescript landscapes, speak volumes of forgotten histories and neglected memories.
These photos make you feel the loneliness and emptiness. The monuments, probably once important or at least noticed, now just stand there, silently showing how time keeps moving. They're there but also not - like ghosts, made stronger by how Kempenaers keeps his distance. The way he frames them makes you feel like you can't really get close, just look from afar.
Kempenaers’ photos don't have titles or places named. They focus just on how things look, leaving out the story or history behind them. This makes you wonder - who made these things, and why put them here? What's their story? Leaving out this info makes you really look at the pictures themselves.
“THE IMAGE NEVER INVITES THE VIEWER TO ENTER THE CONSTRUCTIONS, BUT KEEPS HIM AT BAY: HE’S THERE TO LOOK AT THEM, NOT TO VISIT THEM. OR, TO BE MORE PRECISE, WE’RE ASKED TO LOOK AT THEM, NOT TO LOOK UP TO THEM”. - Steven Humblet
His way of mixing up parts of different photos makes things even more interesting. It's like he's playing with reality, and it leaves you trying to figure it all out, but never really getting it. In works such as SPOMENIKS, he plays with similar themes that provoke thought and introspection to ones' beliefs. He captures the SPOMENIKS in the misty mountain landscape at sundown. Looking at the images, we see these massive monumental sculptures that were once built in remembrance of victims... But now we catch ourselves forgetting for whom and why they were built.
The idea of things falling apart and not lasting forever shows up a lot in these photos. You see these monuments breaking down, which makes you think about how everything we make won't last. They were meant to be forever, but now they're just fading away with time. Themes of decay and transience are rampant in these works. The photographs, often showing the monuments in various states of ruin, serve as a poignant reminder of the inevitable fate of all human constructs. These structures, once striving for eternity, now face obsolescence, withering away due to the shifting sands of time and relevance.
