Brussel, Verstilde Tijd - Bruxelles, Temps Suspendu : Steven Massart

End of 2020. Brussels. A city without people. The scenery of everyday life is deserted. Escape from everyone. The tracks are still visible. People walk shyly through the streets and want to get to their final destination as quickly as possible. A few wander through the city. Aimless, because the doors remain closed. The architecture is completely in the spotlight, but without everyday life, the city also loses much of its meaning.

“As a photographer I was a privileged witness in special times. It felt like wartime without weapons, a battlefield without opponents. The buzz had given way to an uneasy, restless, deafening silence. Late 2020 ‐ early 2021 I spent a lot of time in Brussels at the request of Jean‐Michel Jaspers (CEO Jaspers‐Eyers Architects). He had already asked me during the first lockdown if I wanted to photograph the empty city. Unfortunately, it was not allowed and not possible at the time, since the government had decided that my profession was not essential. Fortunately, when the curfew went into effect in Brussels, I was allowed to.” – Steven Massart

Text in French and Dutch.