publicationLees, kijk, luisterresearch
The School of Speculative Documentary
presentationLees, kijk, luisterresearchresearchers F#1-13
publicationLees, kijk, luisterresearchonderzoeker Reference Guide
publicationLees, kijk, luisterresearchonderzoeker The Situation As It Is
publicationLees, kijk, luisterresearchresearchers Capital Compression
publicationLees, kijk, luisterresearchreseachers the-documents.org
the-documents.org is an online platform, collecting, describing, presenting and generating documents of all sorts. It documents documents.
articleLees, kijk, luisterresearch
Michiel De Cleene, Negotiating Realities
ongoingOnderzoekOn Instructing Photography
Documenting Objects,
Michiel De Cleene, 
completedOnderzoekDocumenting Objects
Reference Guide,
Michiel De Cleene, 
completedOnderzoekReference Guide
Arnout De Cleene, Michiel De CleeneexpoAgendaArtistic activitiesIn 1897 the young engineer Theodor Scheimpflug sets out for the Soča River valley in Northern Slovenia.
A stay in the Baumbach Hütte in the remote alpine village of Trenta.
The mountainous area must be mapped. The slopes are steep; the equipment is heavy. The Soča River – its hue azure and almost artificial – winds down through the shepherds’ settlement, with the Vršič Pass looming over it.
The needles and cones of the larches tremble gently when a soft breeze makes its way southwards.
Flying a Kite Through an Oblique Plane of Focus draws on the phototechnical principle named after Theodor Scheimpflug and his interest in kites. At the heart of the project lies an attempt to photograph a nineteenth-century kite flying through an oblique plane of focus in a clearing in the Julian Alps, near Trenta. The title doubles as a protocol through which the work delves into the political, poetic and historical ties between photography, landscape and cartography.
The exhibition opens on Saturday 31 January, from 14:00 to 18:00, with a presentation of the book of the same name (Roma Publications) by Arnout De Cleene & Michiel De Cleene at 15:00.
Flying a Kite Through an Oblique Plane of Focus was made possible with the support of KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts of HOGENT and Howest. It is part of Arnout and Michiel De Cleene’s research project On Instructing Photography, financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.
Tennisbaanstraat 74,
9000 Gent
Boekvoorstelling Amidst the fire, I am not burntresearch presentationAgendaArtistic activitiesResearchers De Cleene De Cleene present a new book: Amidst the fire, I am not burnt (Roma Publications 462).
In April 1872, Vesuvius erupted in a violent cataclysm. It is considered to be the first volcanic eruption ever photographed. Major eruptions have followed since, with the next eruption dangerously looming. Each eruption leads to the next cataclysm, each period of quietude to forgetfulness and complacency.
Amidst the fire, I am not burnt is a documentary approach of the iconic landscape shaped by Vesuvius. It researches the different temporalities, scientific and popular approaches, historic and present-day photographic representations, and stories inscribed in this cyclical landscape.Amidst the fire, I am not burnt interweaves documentary writing and photography in a constellation of subjects ranging from the historic and present-day observatories, breadcrust bombs, a parking lot inside the mountain, Neapolitan outskirts, superstitious residents, derelict quarries, antennas, chunks of volcanic rock, souvenirs, a muon detector, marble plaques, twelve students who perished near the crater, vegetation, archaeological sites, government workers standing around a bonfire, and lovers parked along the nightly road leading up the volcano. As each eruption adds a layer on top of the last, Vesuvius senses, stores, destroys, shapes and transmits information.
Get your copy at the booklaunch on 22 March in 019, support your local bookshop, or order directly from Idea Books.
Arnout De Cleene and Michiel De Cleene are affiliated as an artistic researcher to KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts of HOGENT and howest. The research project Documenting Objects was financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.
Arnout De Cleene, Michiel De Cleene, 2024
Roma Publications 462
Designed by Roger Willems and De Cleene De Cleene
Printed by Wilco Art Books
Dok-Noord 5L,
9000 Gent
Michiel De Cleene (b. 1988, BE) is a photographer and researcher. His work is an investigation into the processes of limitation, conditioning and authentication within the documentary. He explores the possibilities that arise when uncertainty, speculation and cross-referentiality are considered to be at the centre of documentary practice. He works as a researcher at KASK & Conservatory, Gent. He is a founding member of the School of Speculative Documentary and www.the-documents.org and part of De Cleene De Cleene and the collective 019.
He published the books -scope, F#1-13, Reference Guide, The Situation As It Is, [hij zwaait opnieuw naar de vrouw die nog steeds haar hond uitlaat], Capital Compression en Amidst the fire, I am not burnt. In line with his own practice, he works as a landscape and architecture photographer.