Etienne Ketelslegers

My photographic work has focused on Iceland for several years.

Iceland’s landscapes lend themselves easily to photographic reproduction. Nevertheless, I try to move away from this "documentary" trend, through a work on simplicity and symmetry.

Iceland has its tourist "clichés", magnificent but not completely reflecting the way the island’s inhabitants see their country. Indeed, Man models nature and its achievements are an integral part of Iceland’s landscape. The objective of my photographic work has been to highlight the aesthetic potential of these human brands, sometimes unintentional and often unknown.

Most of the Icelandic houses photographed in this series are abandoned. There is a certain mystery behind each of them... Why did its inhabitants leave? What stories, dramas or sagas were played there? I wanted to encourage the viewer to find his own interpretation and to invent his own story.