PORTRAITS · MUSIC · MENTAL HEALTH
Black and White. Raw and Real. Portraits that reveal the silent struggle behind the decibels.
HEAVY is a photographic project about music, mental health, and the stories we carry with us.
Through a series of intimate portraits and conversations, I meet musicians and people connected to the music world and invite them to speak about what often remains unseen: vulnerability, loss, struggle, resilience, and the role music can play when words fall short.
Behind the stage, the image and the persona, there is always a person. Someone with memories, fears, scars and stories of their own.
In HEAVY, portrait and testimony belong together. The photograph shows the person in front of my camera; their words reveal something the camera alone never could.
It is not a project about darkness. It is a project about being human and about the power of sharing what we usually keep inside.
WHY MUSIC?
Music has a way of reaching places words sometimes cannot.
It can be an escape, a memory, a connection. A song can take us back to a person, a place or a moment in an instant. It can carry grief and anger, but also comfort, strength and hope.
For many of the people portrayed in HEAVY, music is more than something they create or perform. It is part of how they process life. A way to express what is difficult to say, to connect with others, and sometimes simply to get through a difficult moment.
That is why music is at the heart of HEAVY.
Because behind the volume, the stage and the performance, there is something deeply human.
And sometimes, being heard begins with listening.
HEAVY IS GROWING.
HEAVY is an ongoing project.
What started with a single portrait and a conversation is gradually growing into a collection of around forty faces and forty personal stories.
Musicians from different countries, generations and backgrounds are stepping in front of my camera and sharing their experiences with mental health, loss, vulnerability, resilience and the role music has played in their lives.
Some stories are deeply personal. Others are about people they have lost, moments that changed them, or music that helped them through difficult times. Every contribution adds another voice and another perspective.
Together, they are becoming something bigger than a series of portraits.
HEAVY will eventually come together in a book and exhibition, accompanied by public conversations that bring photography, music and mental health into the same space.
Phil Anselmo · Max Cavalera · Tomi Joutsen · Joel Ekelöf · Martin Lopez · Gautier Serre · Sven Herssens · Christophe Depree · and more to come.
The project is still growing.
The story isn’t finished yet.
MORE THAN A PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT
HEAVY was never meant to exist only on a screen or a gallery wall. The project brings photography, personal stories, music and conversation together, creating a space to look, listen and talk.
THE EXHIBITION
The portraits of HEAVY are presented alongside the stories behind them.
Seen at scale and away from the speed of social media, the photographs invite you to stop and look. The words add another layer, revealing experiences, memories and emotions that a portrait alone cannot show.
Together, image and story become one.
THE CONVERSATIONS
HEAVY also comes to life through a series of public evenings built around the exhibition.
Photography and personal stories become the starting point for a wider conversation about music and mental health. I share the stories behind the project and the encounters that shaped it, joined by people who can bring their own experience and expertise to the conversation.
These evenings are not lectures. They are an invitation to talk, listen and connect.
THE BOOK
HEAVY is growing towards a book that will eventually bring the complete series of portraits and stories together.
But the story is still being written.
A first limited preview edition will be available during the initial HEAVY exhibitions and public evenings. It offers an early look at the project as it exists today while new portraits, conversations and stories continue to be added.
The final book will come later, when HEAVY is complete.
For now, this is a project you can watch grow.
EXPERIENCE HEAVY
HEAVY is meant to be seen but also to be talked about.
This autumn, the first three HEAVY evenings will bring the project together in one space.
The portraits and personal stories collected so far will be presented as an exhibition, giving visitors the opportunity to discover HEAVY beyond the screen. I will share the story behind the project, the encounters that shaped it and some of the stories behind the photographs.
A mental health expert from MCT Brugge will add professional insight and context, opening up a broader conversation about mental health, vulnerability and the importance of speaking and listening.
Music, naturally, will be part of the evening as well.
These are not lectures, nor are they traditional exhibition openings. They are evenings to look, listen, talk and connect.
13 OCTOBER 2026 — KORTRIJK
HEAVY — Press Announcement, Exhibition & Conversation
29 OCTOBER 2026 — TORHOUT
HEAVY — Exhibition & Conversation
In collaboration with D|Day, taking place on 30 October.
19 NOVEMBER 2026 — OOSTENDE
HEAVY — Exhibition & Conversation
A limited preview edition of the HEAVY book will also be available during these first evenings. A first physical glimpse of a project that is still growing.
More details and practical information will follow.
BE PART OF HEAVY
HEAVY is still growing, in portraits, stories, collaborations and places where those stories can be shared.
FOR ARTISTS
HEAVY is built on trust.
If you are a musician or artist with a story you feel belongs within HEAVY – about mental health, loss, resilience, vulnerability or what music has meant in your life – I would like to hear from you.
FOR VENUES & ORGANISATIONS
HEAVY can travel.
The exhibition and conversation format can be brought to cultural venues, music organisations, festivals and other places that want to create room for an open conversation about music and mental health.
Every setting can be different. The photographs and stories remain at its heart.
FOR PARTNERS
HEAVY would not exist without people and organisations willing to help it grow.
There are many ways to contribute: by supporting the project, creating connections, providing expertise, helping us reach new audiences or simply opening a door that might otherwise remain closed.
Want to be part of the story?
I DON'T DO THIS ALONE.
HEAVY started as a personal project, but it could never grow into what it is becoming without the people and organisations who believe in it.
The support of Streekfonds West-Vlaanderen, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, helps make it possible for HEAVY to grow beyond a photographic series into exhibitions, public conversations and, eventually, a book.
But a project about mental health also needs knowledge and expertise. Centrum ter Preventie van Zelfdoding (CPZ) supports HEAVY with its expertise in suicide prevention, while MCT Brugge brings professional insight into mental health and joins the public conversations surrounding the project.
For the HEAVY evening in Torhout, we are joining forces with D|Day. By connecting both initiatives, we hope to strengthen each other’s message and reach and create even more room for conversation.
And then there are all the people behind the scenes.
The musicians who step in front of my camera and trust me with their stories. The people who make introductions, open doors, share ideas, read texts, offer advice, provide a stage, make music, help organise, spread the word or simply believe that HEAVY deserves to exist.
Some contributions are visible.
Others happen quietly in the background.
Every one of them matters.
HEAVY is my project.
But I don’t do it alone.
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Project gerealiseerd met de steun van het Streekfonds, beheerd door de Koning Boudewijnstichting.
WITH THE EXPERTISE OF
CPZ / MCT Brugge
IN COLLABORATION WITH
D|Day
