Introducing the Photographer

Pieter Verlaak (Pete) is a 31 year old Belgian filmmaker who has experience in fiction, documentary and marketing. In the past 3 years, he also developed a taste for photography. Rather than exploring 1 niche, Pete allows a strong subject to lead the style of the frame. Subjects like people or objects that feel alive within their environment always form an interesting story.

The past 13 months of traveling has been the most exciting time of his life when it comes to photography. Capturing images in a new place every day, forces him to learn about the world. To learn about new people. Their lives, their jobs and their passions.

A word from the Photographer

For this specific exhibition I would like to compare photography with traveling. I think they naturally work together well, because for each trip, photography will match the pace of travelling. In Europe you can visit 5 countries in one day. But every country will feel like a snapshot. So will your pictures. You are in the backseat of a car, staring out the window. A horse in a field flashes by. If you are quick enough, you might catch the image of the horse. Creating that picture will help you remember 5 seconds of your life that you otherwise might forget about. It enhances the trip and the memory. 

But what happens if you get out of the car and spend time with the horse? You’ll start to see better angles. Maybe you’ll wait for better light. You see more possibilities in the environment. Maybe the horse starts liking you and comes closer. You start seeing a pattern in its behavior that you can capture with a few clicks. There is a deeper story to tell.

Time makes your story stronger. Spending one or more days in a single place changes everything. You grow comfortable with the environment, and the environment grows comfortable with you. People approach you. They ask about your story, and share theirs. Time transforms observation into understanding, and storytelling becomes layered and stronger.

Would I photograph kauri gum if I only had five seconds? Of course. I might take one or two images. But I know I would rarely look back at them. Not intentionally, not without context.

This subject required time for me.

It began with a journey to Havelock, on New Zealand’s South Island. My wife, Silvi, booked a small guesthouse in a valley away from town. We spent time with our host, David. Thankfully David is a very social being so we didn’t need days to get comfortable with each other. Once he realized I knew how to turn on a camera, he proposed an idea: a photographic exhibition dedicated entirely to kauri gum.

Four hours later, David was still talking.

I told him I would think about it. But I secretly admired his passion and already knew the answer.

I returned four months later for a full week. Right before that, I spent a day in Kaikōura with a single piece of kauri gum David had given me. Sitting on the rocky coast, I studied how it caught the light, how it transformed from angle to angle, how it could appear alien or deeply native in its environment, still or dynamic. 100 pictures and none of them show the exact same shape. One small piece demanded an entire afternoon. 

The following week, I faced the impossible task of photographing forty to fifty unique pieces out of David’s collection. By the final day, I still didn’t fully understand kauri gum and its endless complexity.

But I understood something else.

I understood David’s passion. I understood there is an attraction to Kauri Gum that keeps on growing the more you look into it. The hidden worlds you discover in each piece are endless. This exhibition is just the beginning as far as I’m concerned. Because a beautiful collection like this deserves all the time in the world. 

Thank you, David, for the opportunity, and for allowing me to contribute to this remarkable country.