Steven Humblet, Off Camera, 2021

Off Camera proposes to be a visual manifesto comprising the works of 47 artists. Exploring the notion of “photographic”, it analyzes the effects that the photographic image has on the universe of visual culture as a whole. The photographic essay focuses on contemporary artistic practices and experimental approaches reserved for photography. It is divided into four themes: The Photographic Fossil, Chemical Matter, Optical Confusion, and Performing the Image. The accompanying text insert, produced with contributions from Steven Humblet, Marc De Blieck, Liz Deschenes, Markus Kramer, and Joanna Zylinska, initiates a discourse between artists and intellectuals on the definition of photography and technique. Off Camera is the conclusion of a research project conducted by Belgian researcher Steven Humblet’s group, Thinking Tools, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.