Jan Rosseel

Born in Brussels, Belgium (1979).
Jan Rosseel work is best described as visual storytelling, between narration and documentation. He works as a collector of memories using photography, video and objects. The starting point of his research-based projects are historical events and the notion of memory. Stories that not only reconstruct historical events, but also question the reliability of our memory and our brain. He works as an investigator using methods of scientific research and journalism to build a narrative where fact and fiction coexist.

Honors and Awards
Prix Pictet Photography Prize nominee Disorder 2015
Plat(t)form Winner Special mention by the Jury / Fotomuseum Winterthur 2014 .Tiff Young Belgian Talent by FoMu / Fotomuseum Antwerpen 2015
Foam Magazine Talent 2014
ING Young Talent Award nominee 2014
IMC Youth Award winner 2014
Dutch Doc Award shortlist 2014
NY Times portfolio review selected photographer 2014
Beurs Toptalent creatieve industry The Hague 2013
Steenbergen Stipend nominee 2013
‘Best of European Academies’ shortlist / DOX, Prague 2013
Photo Academy award / winner Volkskrant Magazine 2013
Photo Academy award / second prize overall 2013
Schuitema prijs / honourable mention 2013
Royal Academy Award / best graduation project photography department 2013 Royal Academy Award / Academy prize best graduation project overall 2013
PDN 30 New and emerging photographers to watch nominee 2013
Shortlist for MONO by Gomma 2012
PDN 30 New and emerging photographers to watch nominee 2012

Publications selection
FOAM Magazine, IMA Magazine, Le Monde, Vrij Nederland, de Morgen, Volkskrant, Volkskrant Magazine, de Standaard, DS Magazine, De Tijd, Le Vif, Knack, L’echo, Piel de foto, 8weekly, Urbanautica, copypasteculture, Gazeta.pl, GUP, Gomma, photographer.ru, Huffington Post

Exhibitions selection
FoMu, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Antwerpen, solo exhibition 2015
Ilex Gallery at 10b Gallery, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Rome, solo exhibition, 2015
Reminders Photography Stronghold, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Tokyo, solo exhibition, 2015
Circulation(s) Young European photography, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Invited Artist, Paris, group exhibition 2015
East Wing Gallery, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Foam Talent, Dubai, group exhibition, 2015
Photoville NY, The beauty of the photo book, Curated by Teun van der Heijden, New York, group exhibition, 2014
Atelier Néerlandais, Belgian Autumn. A Confabulated History, Foam Talent, Paris, group exhibition, 2014
Bredaphoto International Photo Festival, Litho Belgica, Breda, group exhibition, 2014
FOAM, Belgische Herfst. Een geconfabuleerde geschiedenis, Amsterdam, solo exhibition, 2014
LhGWR, Belgische Herfst. Een geconfabuleerde geschiedenis, Den Haag, solo exhibition, 2014
Nederlands fotomuseum, Steenbergen Stipendium, Rotterdam, group exhibition, 2013
Fotomuseum Den Haag, Belgische Herfst. Een geconfabuleerde geschiedenis, Den Haag, group exhibition, 2013

Belgian autumn. A confabulated history.
The story of The Brabant Killers is in many ways an exceptionally lamentable piece of history. Not only did the group perform a number of violent armed robberies and other crimes between 1982 and 1985, murdering 28 people and wounding a further 40, but the reprehensible and even suspicious incompetence of the Belgian judiciary in their failure to solve this sensitive case is a fiasco for the country. It is therefore apt that Jan Rosseel subtitled his multimedia photo project Belgian Autumn “A confabulated history”. The definition of confabulation is given in the book: “To fill in gaps in one’s memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts. Most known cases of confabulation are symptomatic of brain damage or dementias.” This beautiful visual essay is the brainchild of Rosseel, who, figuratively speaking, contracted brain damage many years ago as the son of one of the 28 murdered victims. The confabulative method is thus pertinent for Rosseel. It offers a legitimate solution for the portrayal of such a complicated and problematic topic. His confabulated approach to this history without closure allows him to alternate a confrontational directness with an enigmatic indirectness. Out of this new artistic dimension Rosseel finds a way to come to terms with a taunting lack of response from both the perpetrators and the judiciary in this case. But, above all, his mature approach creates an awareness in the empathetic reader/viewer that there is a certain beauty in evil. And thus the audience is exposed to a slightly different version of a moral world view.