The work of Tom Callemin consists of muted color portraits, video works and black-and-white photographs, most having a dark background. It stems from the question as to what the photographic medium can render visible or, on the other hand, what remains hidden beneath the gaze of the lens. What types of situations the camera evokes, and what these situations tell us about the act of observation and the medium itself, about that which the naked eye overlooks.

To this end he seeks no images in reality, but rather tries to construct situations, mostly in his studio, in which every detail of the image is provided. After months of research, sketches and preparations he picks up the camera and tries to create, in a relatively short session, the one picture that has been constructed in his mind over a period of weeks.

“I attach so many conditions to it that it becomes almost impossible to realise a photograph as I had imagined it beforehand. It's incredibly important for an image to come about exactly as it should; and I sometimes go to great lengths, creating meticulous replicas of situations built in my studio, to arrive at that precise image. But in the end each image proves to be a failure.”

Despite all efforts to construct and control that one moment in time, chance always finds its way into this. Sometimes it lends a sense of reality to the scenery; sometimes the situation in reality doesn’t correspond to the attempted imaginary image. When Callemin produces a portrait, however, his approach is rather that of an observer. A set is built in a very strict manner, but once the model is posing Callemin stops being the director. He merely records the way in which his act of taking photographs influences the model. 

“My works can be described as documents of the encounter between the photographer and the subject, and of the act of fixing a situation for a period of time. Sometimes the scenery in my studio is left untouched for weeks, simply remaining in this one moment. Sometimes a model will hold a pose for almost an hour, while I adjust every wrinkle in the t-shirt, the hair, in this one gesture. It’s almost like building a sculpture.”