Sophie Gilkens (°2002, Genk) is a Belgian visual artist, her artistic work revolves around humanity and their taboos.
Sophie
Her passion for photography formed at an early age, meaning she entered the world of the arts quite young. In 2016, she began her studies in audiovisual education at Atlas College in Genk, after which she continued her studies in the Academic Bachelor of Fine Arts Photography at LUCA School of Arts in Genk.
sophie
Her interest in intimate stories about uncomfortable and hidden realities related to sexuality, mental health and transgressive behavior grew through personal experiences. This gave rise to her love for staged documentary photography. She takes a cinematic approach where warmth is an essential element within her projects.
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Sophie Gilkens' goal is to bring awareness to important topics and ensure more open communication and open thoughts.
I explore reality and how to show it through images. It is the reality that plagues us daily and is often deliberately overlooked. I want to uncover that realness by reconstructing intimate stories. Two examples of this are my projects "Seventeen-Twelve" and "Michèle," in both works I engage with personal stories about tough periods that individuals have gone through. There is talk of fears and additional traumas left behind, using all the details I pour each story into an image as a reconstruction.
What fascinates me about any artistic medium is that it can take the viewer out of a logical and ordinary world and place them in a space that is more alive. For me, that "logical and ordinary world" is the world where taboos hang, I want to take the viewer out of that world and place them in "my space", a space without the word taboo, without corners and walls. To make the viewers standstill and let them think about their essence.
I strive to create awareness among viewers by bringing up recurring topics within my projects such as sexuality, mental health and transgressive behavior. My goal is to make people become aware that they are not just looking at an image, but at reality.