IVAN MERVILLIE
Liberty City

This series of black & white images is a love letter to my home town of Ghent. Since the middle ages the citizens of Ghent have borne the reputation of being rebels, mavericks and rule-breakers. This reputation dates back to the revolt of Ghent in 1539 against the regime of the Ghent born Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

Nowadays Ghent is the third largest city in Belgium and home to a sea port and a world-renowned university. The label of liberals, rebels, anarchists has stuck with the citizens of Ghent, partially due to the steady inflow of young people from all over the country who come to study at one of the many colleges, partially due to the stubborn character of the locals.

In this series of photographs I don't pay a lot of attention to the general rules of photography; Don't shoot into the sun, follow the rule of thirds, don’t crush the shadows or blow the highlights... This approach is a hommage to all the rule-breakers living in Ghent, making it such a wonderful place.

Author
I was born into a family where photography was always present. The first camera I took a picture with was a Voigtländer Vitomatic III CS. And when I was twelve, I for the fist time saw an image appear on a previously white paper in the darkroom. I was hooked for life. Twelve I am no longer and it's been ages since I last stepped into a darkroom but the passion remained. When I leave the house without a camera, which I hardly ever do, I feel amputated, and this has nothing to do with fact that photography has been my livelihood since the '90's.

I meanly shoot environmental portraits for magazines and do travel reportages too. I can’t determine a single point in time, or a pivotal moment but through the years my intrest started shifting to street photography. From the rigid document to the spontaneous impression.

Website
www.ivanmervillie.be

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