Made in Belgium
Along with fellow artist Hugo Claus, Harry Gruyaert tackles his conflicting emotions towards his homeland of Belgium with his trademark use of color
This original book, Made in Belgium, combines the work of two Belgian artists: the writer Hugo Claus and the photographer Harry Gruyaert. Both of them try to express here the ambivalent feeling they have towards their country, wavering between love and hate.
Harry Gruyaert, who came back to his country after having gone away from it for some time, aimed at avoiding yielding to melancholy. That is why he discarded black and white photography and chose the realism of bright colours, for they allowed him to render the strength of what he considers the major two phenomena that he witnessed there: attachment to traditions and rapid Americanization. Such a dual perception of the country accounts for the variety of subjects characterizing that book.
