ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gert Jochemsa Belgian photographer and member of the VU agency, lives and works between Ostend and Antwerp. He graduated from the University of Ghent with a degree in Sociology and International Political Relations in 1996 and also studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. Shortly after his studies, he traveled to Bolivia to study the economy and culture surrounding the coca plant. Upon his return, Jochems dedicated himself to photography, starting to work for regional and national newspapers, including Het Volk, De Morgen, and De Standaard, with which he continues to collaborate to this day.
In 2002, Jochems focused on long-term projects. One of them was a reportage from Siberia, which was published as a book titled "RUS". In 2005, this project was exhibited at the Antwerp Museum of Photography. He then worked on a project in Dampremy, a suburb of Charleroi in Belgium, known for its high levels of poverty and unemployment.
Jochems' next book explores the theme of sex. He found models through dating sites and photographed them during sexual experiences, leading to the publication of the book "S" and another exhibition at the Antwerp Museum of Photography in 2012.
Since 2008, he has been collaborating with the French agency Agence Vu, and his photographs have appeared in international media such as Le Monde, De Volkskrant, and NRC Handelsblad. Commissioned by De Standaard and other media outlets, he has been documenting migration flows into Europe since 2015, observing their political consequences in the ongoing project "New Demographics".
In the winter of 2022, Jochems was in Ukraine just a few days after the start of the war and continues to work in the region.
Gert Jochems' images are part of the permanent collection at the Photo Museum of Antwerp (FOMU) and various private collections.