TITLE: Only birds are free

Landscape is an idea; we bring landscape into being. Being a landscape (and representing the landscape) is to simultaneously inhabit two worlds: the one before us and the one inside us. And when those two worlds collide and intermingle the result can often surprise. Our relationship with the landscape isn't purely one of the physical dependency, but it's also spiritual and emotional. We tend to think of landscapes as external settings for our life and architectural structures. However, there are no external settings for us to settle in, as our perceptions and awareness unavoidably imply an exchange; when we enter a space, the space enters us. Physical and geographical landscapes are also mindscapes. 'I am the space, where I am', Noël Arnaud, the poet, confesses, whereas Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the philosopher, reasons: 'The world is wholly inside, and I am wholly outside of myself'. Rainer Maria Rilke, the Bohemian-Austrian poet, uses the beautiful notion of Weltinnenraum. In my baren landscapes of isolation, solitude and mystery, the architectural structures project a sense of arrival, destination and comfort. In Martin Heidegger's words, they express our 'coming into the nearness of distance'. Houses are set in the landscape but the landscape is equally mirrored in architecture. The house expresses permanence (temporary and futile) while the landscape projects the changes of the seasons and hours of the day. The landscape embraces the house while the house caresses the landscape. When there is a person in my landscapes, it is more of an extra, a negligible dot in the big picture. Man is only a small, vulnerable element within the wide nature.

AUTHOR: Eddy Verloes (Belgium)

Eddy Verloes studied literature and philosophy at the University of Louvain (Belgium) and the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg i.B.(Germany). As a photographer, he studied at CVO Louvain (Belgium). Between 2016 and 2022 he has published 5 photo books and has exhibited in several galleries in the USA, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. He has been selected several times for national and international competitions.


 As a visual storyteller, he creates a poetic and mysterious world in his mainly black and white photos that sometimes balance between realism and surrealism. He is always focused on the decisive moment and shoots with his soul, not with his camera. Some of his (street) photos are also spiced with a touch of humor and it's difficult to put him in a box.

Most important awards in 2020-2022:

- Selected as one of the best contemporary photographers worldwide by the American site All-About-Photo
- Winner Life Framer Photo Contest 2020 (Theme: Civilization)
- Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 (People of the World)
- Winner Siena Creative Photo Awards 2021 (Open Theme)
- Winner Malta International Photo Travel Award 2020/2021
- 2nd place MonoVisions Awards 2021 (Photojournalism), London (UK)
- Finalist FOCUS Photo L.A. 2021, Los Angeles (USA)
- Winner Siena International Photography Awards 2021 (Fascinating faces and characters)
- Winner 16th Annual Black&White Spider Awards 2021, Beverly Hills (California)
- Winner of the Union of Lights 2021 World Photography Contest (Street & Lifetsyle)
- 3rd Place Winner (Photojournalism) Monochrome Photography Awards 2021, London (UK)
- Winner Pangea Prize Siena Creative Photo Awards 2021 (Open Theme)
- Winner 17th Pollux Awards 2021 (Open Theme - series), Barcelona (Spain)
- Winner of The Chelsea International Photography Competition 2021/2022, New York (USA)
- Winner Fine Art Photography Awards 2021/2022 (Photojournalism), 8th edition, London (UK)
- Gold Winner Muse Photography Award 2022 (Fine Art Photography - People) with my series 'Losing Our Minds', NY,
- Gold Winner London Photography Awards 2022 (B & W Photography - Religious), London (UK)
- Finalist LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2022
- Bronze Medal Paris International Street Photo Awards 2021- Category Black & White
- Winner of the Intern. Black & White Photography Awards 2022 with my series 'Losing Our Minds', Paris
- Overall Contest Winner @ the reFocus 'One Shot Contest' Awards 2022, honoring the most extraordinary
photographers of our time.
- Photographer of the Year Winner (Amateur) with an 'Outstanding Achievement' @ the 17th B&W Spider Awards 2022,
Beverly Hills (USA)
- Silver Winner in Portfolio/Fine Art @ Budapest International Foto Awards 2022 with my series 'Losing Our Minds'
- Silver Winner NY Photography Awards 2022 - Editorial Photography/Religious
- Bronze Medal Paris International Street Photo Awards 2021, Cat. B & W
- Grand Prize Winner of the Great Photo Awards 2023/ Black & White World Photo Competition, Athens (Greece)
- Finalist LensCulture Black and White Photography Awards 2023
- Platium, Gold & Silver Winner @ 2024 MUSE Photography Awards, NY