Stig De Block (b. 1990) grew up in a small village in Flanders to be a graphic designer and photographer. He received his Master of Fine Art from Sint Lucas University College of Art & Design in 2013. He now lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
His photographic work functions as an objective documentation of the public landscape in the 21st century and the interaction with its visitors. He puts his focus on the (pre-drawn) path and human traces of spacial planning.
His photo and design practice stands in close collaboration with creative and commercial partners from various regions in the field of the music industry, art, photography and other cultural initiatives. His client base goes from editorial shoots for local newspaper magazines to portraying for Freunde Von Freunden. In 2014 his work “Atom Basement” got selected for the catalogue of the 24th international Biennial of Interior design. Stig De Block has participated in multiple group exhibitions and self published his first book in 2013. Today we look at his series Solid Grey.
Solid Grey
For his series Solid Grey he made two journeys between 2013 & 2015 to Lanzarote, the easternmost island of the Canary Islands. During those pilgrimages he drove back and forth the ever changing landscape to document the impact of the isle’s volcanic eruptions from 1730-36 and 1824. This disastrous event which covered a great part of the island with lava is now called Timanfaya park. This aggressive but beautiful natural phenomenon is one of the main elements of it’s (tourist)-economy.
The body of work shows how the inhabitants have learned to adapt to its environment rather than to adjust. They embedded their needs and provisions in a landscape determined by nature itself.
To view more of Stig’s work, please view his website.