Steven Goovaerts
Costa Belgica
Art on stilts, statues on breakwaters, sand-covered playgrounds... and concrete. Lots of concrete. An endless patchwork of flats. And yet, when the beautiful coastal light is just right, there is something in the air that makes the Belgian coast special. Costa Belgica documents the unique sights that you are likely to see only along the Belgian coastline... and just like the incessant building boom (you know, that thing about Belgians and bricks), it will probably never be “finished”. Each photo is accompanied by a short text. Or a word. Not necessarily as an explanation of the image, but as a description of the feeling I had when taking the photo. Does it sometimes come across as cynical? It may. But it is not my intention to turn this series into yet another indictment of Belgian concrete construction. Because underlying it all, I always try to reveal a certain aesthetic, a certain beauty. And in Belgium, that can sometimes be surreal.
