For this project, I chose the topic "De Kustlijn: 68 tram stops on the Belgian coast". I have always felt a special connection with coastal resorts. I was born and raised in the Northern Irish seaside town of Bangor. And so there is a strong feeling of nostalgia underpinning my choice of subject. My first visit to continental Europe as a young teenager was to Blankenberge. It was a memorable holiday, and I have never lost my liking for the place.
Two years ago, I reread David Campany's "The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip" and rekindled my love for this genre of photographic travel. How could I apply the road trip concept to little Belgium? I found my answer in the longest tram line in the world, 67 km long between De Panne and Knokke. This gave me the idea of making a concertina book of 68 photos – one for each of the 68 places where the tram stops. Opened out, the book is 17 metres long.
My approach to photography is based on the aphorism of the playwright Samuel Beckett: "Dance first, think later". That means: taking pictures spontaneously, wandering aimlessly, without a plan. This project has no storyline. I selected 68 fragments. They represent my look at life on the Belgian coast – fragmentary, ephemeral, picturesque, sensory, with no ultimate meaning. As with life, it's a journey that goes on until the last tram stop is reached....
