I love Charleroi

During a photo journey in 2010 through Europe I crossed Charleroi, Belgium. The city felt abandoned, dark and hopeless so I was happy to leave it behind. Back home I discovered the international media was quite repeating this same story which doesn’t really help the image of this old industrial landmark. It even got the name of the world’s ugliest city.

I left these clichés behind and started looking for this city’s potential. I witnessed this through many positive developments in it’s transportation system, living area’s and different kinds of industries. However this caught my interest there was something that had a much greater and more intimate effect on me, which were the inhabitants themselves.

These photographs show the most critical and notorious environments in Charleroi with a contrast of hope and pride that these persons have and reveal in these conceptual portraits.

Photographed and produced in 2011.