SHOP

Kaat Pype has been creating unique portraits for many years. She often collaborates with an assistant who takes the place of the subject beforehand, allowing the technique, posture, and concept to be well-prepared. Pype has now compiled all these stand-in images into a book. The same man is in front of the camera each time, not self-aware. The same man every time. Page after page. The same man is repeatedly present, though the focus is never on him. The stand-in book raises questions as a result. When does an image of someone become a portrait? Does the stand-in acquire its own identity through hundreds of images? Does he become a character? Does the viewer learn something more about him? What we know for sure is that Kaat Pype is showing something here that didn't seek attention, something that wouldn't have been shown otherwise.