Jeffrey De Keyser

Born in Kortrijk in the Orwellian year 1984, living in the picturesque city of Ghent, working as a human science teacher in Brussels, where the spirit of Magritte lives on.

Street photography reflects my passion for exploring human society and the human mind (including my own). For me, the photographic experience is all about embracing and escaping the now at the same time. It’s an existential experience, because it involves a quest for relationships and connections between urban and human elements, for the deeper levels of the visual language (with light, composition and color as my favorite photographic tools) which constitute our perception and understanding of reality.

On a metaphysical level, I see photography as a way of questioning the conflict between the human tendency to seek meaning and purpose in life and the human inability to find any. When embracing the absurdity of human existence (as Camus suggested), photography becomes a quest for a reality that is beyond the absurd, with the possibily of creating meaning in a nonsensical world, a transcendent realm where anything is possible.

Take a look at my portfolio on this website, or check out my Flickr / Instagram.

Awards & Prizes

• Linx+ Bewogen Fotografen 2018 contest, First Prize.
• London Street Photography Festival 2018, Third Prize in the 'London photograph' category.
• ASPAwards 2018, two Honorable Mentions in the street photography category.
• Fotonale Brugge 2017, Third Prize.
• Fotocafé Kortrijk 2017, Second Prize.
• Linx+ Bewogen Fotografen 2017 contest, First Prize.
• Brussels Street Photography Festival 2016, International Singles Public Award.

Exhibitions

• International Photo Festival Pelt 2019, 2 Jun - 30 Sep 2019, city centre, Pelt (BE).
• Street Sans Frontières 2019, 17 - 19 May 2019, Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris (FR).
• Italian Street Photo Festival 2019, 26 - 28 Apr 2019, Officine Fotografiche, Rome (IT).
• Street Sans Frontières 2018, 23 Oct - 11 Nov 2018, DoubleRoom, Trieste (IT).
• Flowing City Exhibition 2018, 18 Oct - 30 Nov 2018, Trieste Airport, Trieste (IT).
• BSPF True Colors Exhibition 2018, 4 - 31 Oct 2018, Maison des Cultures Molenbeek, Brussels (BE).
• Indian Photography Festival 2018, 6 Sep - 7 Oct 2018, State Art Gallery, Hyderabad (IN).
• London Street Photography Festival 2018, 3 - 5 Aug 2018, Stour Space, London (UK).
• World Street Photography 5, 15 Jun - 31 Jul 2018, Gudberg Nerger gallery, Hamburg (DE).
• BSPF Selected Works Exhibition 2018, 14 Jun - 14 Jul 2018, ViaVia Café, Brussels (BE).
• More >>

Featured

• Optic Nerve, February 2019. Featured in 'Photo Of The Month - Behind the Shot!'.
• The APF Magazine, August 2018. Selected for 'Photo of the Day' on the APF Magazine.
• The APF Magazine, July 2018. Selected for 'Photo of the Day' on the APF Magazine.
• Photographic Mercadillo, June 2018. Featured on the 'Photographic Mercadillo' FB page.
• Edge of Humanity Magazine, May 2018. Selection of my color street photography.
• The APF Magazine, March 2018. Best of street photography from February & March 2018.
• Streethunters.net, February 2018. Winner of the February 2018 Street Photography Contest.
• On SPOT, September 2017. Featured photographer of the week in the On SPOT Facebook group.
• LensCulture, July 2017. Featured in the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2017 Competition Gallery.
• The Photo Academy Magazine, July 2017. "Building Urban Practices: the Brussels Street ...".
• More >>

Interviews

• 121clicks.com, April 2018. Interview with the popular photography website 121clicks.com.
• Centrum voor Beeldexpressie, April 2017. Interview with the Belgian Centre for Visual Expression (NL).
• Bruxelles Bondy Blog, October 2016. Interview about the Brussels Street Photography Festival (FR).
• Straatfotografie.nl, September 2016. Interview for the HIGH5 section (NL).
• The Photography Workshop, April 2015. Interview about street photography.

Publications in books

• World Street Photography 5 "The Finest Photos in International Street Photography".
• Snoecks 2018, winning image of the Linx+ Bewogen Fotografen 2017 contest.
• World Street Photography 4 "The Finest Photos in International Street Photography".
• We Street 2016 "Street Photography From Around The Globe".
• World Street Photography 3 "The Finest Photos in International Street Photography".
• We Street 2015 "Street Photography From Around The Globe".

Commissioned

• Cover photo for the Missing Children Europe Annual Review 2016.
• Cover photo for the Leuven University Press publication Herinneringen aan de Holocaust.
• Illustrative photo for the European Union special of the Generali Group's corporate magazine Il Bollettino.
• Cover photo for the GEF publication Europe for Beginners.