HOARD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2004
HOARD: You have a new book out right now titled, "BELUGA". Please tell us something about it.
JEAN: As soon as I entered it, I knew that there was something special to that old Chinese restaurant in the port's old red light district of Antwerp. The unique interior design that stems back from 1963, a typical mixture of gold, kitsch and ancient looking furniture was the perfect decor for "BELUGA". I decided that the idea of blending beautiful models in this unique Chinese setting, with everything the sea has to offer needed an extra flavoring, and that's where chef Wouter Keersmaekers comes in, proud owner of a guide Michelin star, who wrote the receipts. Beluga took me 1,5 year to finish and wouldn't be possible without the unselfish and voluntary contributions of everybody who participated. "BELUGA" is my first ("cook") book published by Goliath.
HOARD: The fish in the photographs are real? Or are the fish synthetic props?
JEAN: Everybody is asking me that question, but all the fish in the book is real!!!
HOARD: Where does creativity come from?
JEAN: Creativity is hard to define, it's something you have and can't learn. My inspirations come from traveling, and is a mix of different kinds of influences.
HOARD: Do you work with other creative mediums? Or are you monogamously photographic?
JEAN: I work only with photographs.
HOARD: How and when did you discover a love for photography? Describe some of your earliest work.
JEAN: I discovered photography as a child in the late seventies in the diving school where my father was a dive instructor. Most people know my pictures from the extreme colors and the compositions I create.
HOARD: What compelled or inspired you to create the "WAR" series.
JEAN: George Bush, the beginning of the war in Iraq, and the world that's getting more and more extreme.
HOARD: Do you enjoy discussing your work, or do you prefer to keep the photographs a purely visual experience?
JEAN: I don't like to discuss too much about photography, there are always pro and contras. When you make pictures, people are not used to seeing, then it becomes a never ending discussion, that's why I like to keep it purely visual.
HOARD: Thank you, Jean. [ END ]
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Jean Van Cleemput's website is: www.isawyou.be
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Consider these from the Hoard archive:
Antonio Riello's LADIES WEAPONS
interview with LANA LANDIS
photography by MICHAEL GOESELE
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