'Elle avait toujours pensé qu'une île, c'était comme une existence condensée. Tout est concentré sur ces morceaux de terre si particuliers, et l'on y développe une autre façon de vivre.' Ces mots de l'autrice japonaise Ryoko Sekiguchi, Renée Lorie les a dits presque littéralement pour nous expliquer sa fascination des îles – ces lieux isolés où se créent des connexions entre les individus par le biais d'histoires magiques et de rituels partagés. Shelter, pour lequel elle est partie aux îles Shetland, lui offre un poste d'observation privilégié pour scruter les sentiments complexes d'appartenance et de solitude que nous éprouvons en tant qu'êtres humains. C'est que Renée Lorie cherche ce qui nous unit. Elle sait que le monde entier est à Bruxelles, qu'elle parcourt de long en large, frappant aux portes d'un immeuble pour demander ses habitant.es leur thé favori ou leur recette de soupe préférée, avant de les photographier, puis de les rassembler autour d'une table. La fragilité est son thème de prédilection, qui l'a amenée à la photographie. Sa sensibilité à fleur de peau lui permet de capturer les émotions qu'elle traduit en gestes et en mouvements, avec un goût certain pour les grandes ombres et les éclats de lumière vive, qui coexistent à chaque instant de nos vies. Son œuvre s'expose parfois sur les mures des villes, mais aussi sur le sol d'une galerie: 'Prière de piétiner'.
— Simon Hatab & Lise Bruyneel, Les filles du calvaire, Paris, FR, 2024-2025
Renée Lorie (°1989, Termonde) lives and works in Brussels. She studied Art History (UGent, BE), Film Studies and Visual Culture (University of Antwerp, BE) and Photography (Sint Lukas Brussels, BE). She works as a visual artist, integrating textual notes into her work. She published her first book 'Noctuary' with Posture Editions (Ghent, BE). She has exhibited at Recyclart (Brussels, BE), Netwerk (Aalst, BE), FOMU (Antwerp, BE), Tiblisi Photo Festival (Tiblisi, Georgia), Centre Culturel de Namur (Namur, BE), Kunsthal Gent (Ghent, BE), Les filles du calvaire (Paris, FR), and the Biennale of Condroz (Vyle-Tharoul, BE). She gave lectures in Centrale for Contemporary Art (Brussels, BE) and curated exhibitions in Recyclart (Brussels, BE) and at Université Saint Louis (Brussels, BE). She was selected for .TIFF in 2020 (FOMU Antwerp, BE). She is part of het European Photography Platform Futures. Her second book 'Shelter' was published by les Editions du Caïd (Liège, BE). She has been working in a duo with Erien Withouck (erienrenee.be) alongside her own practice since 2021.
expo
I thought we would eat with golden spoons, solo, Photo Brussels Festival: gallery Rivoli and GC Het Huys, Brussels (Uccle), BE, 2026
shelter, group expo, gallery Bonnemaison, Liège, BE, 2025 & 2026
shelter, group expo, La 12ème Biennale de photographie en Condroz, Vyle-et-Tharoul, BE, 2025
shelter, group expo, gallery Les filles du calvaire, Paris, FR, 2024 & 2025
shelter, group expo, Contretype, Brussels, BE, 2024
shelter, duo with Edouard Devriendt, Maalderij Landegem, Landegem, BE, 2024
shelter, group expo, Kunsthal Gent, Ghent, BE, 2024
shelter, solo, open air on 10 facades in public space, Netwerk Aalst, gallery van Caelenberg etc., Aalst, BE, 2021
shelter, group expo, .TIFF, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Antwerp, BE, 2020
shelter & noctuary, group expo Re/settle, community centre Pianofabriek Brussel & Parcours d'artistes, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2020
shelter, solo and performance, Kunst in Huis, Brussels, BE, 2020
dal porto al ponte dal porto al ponte, duo with Galatée Martin, gallery The Platform, Antwerp, BE, 2022 & 2023
skipper, can I cross the river?, group expo, Photocity & gallery l' Enfant Sauvage, Brussels (Tour&Taxi), BE, 2021
skipper, can I cross the river?, group expo, Fusée de la Motographie, Vincen Beeckman & Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Antwerp, BE, 2021
skipper, can I cross the river?, group expo with performance, gallery l' Enfant Sauvage, Brussels, BE, 2021
noctuary, book publication in group expo, Belgian Photobooks Arles, Arles, FR, 2022
noctuary, group expo, Night of Photography, Tiblisi Photo Festival, Georgia, 2020
noctuary, group expo, One way or Another, Posture Editions & SMAK, Ghent, BE, 2021
noctuary, solo, Netwerk Aalst, Aalst, BE, 2019
noctuary, duo with Judith Desmyttere, and buitentijd, in group expo many a moon, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2019
noctuary, duo with Judith Desmyttere, in group expo dis(m)asters of photography, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2019
noctuary, group expo bring your photobook, gallery de Wégimont/ Cinéma Churchill, Liège, BE, 2019
noctuary, self-published book, in group expo photobook Belge, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Antwerp, BE, 2019
noctuary, self-published book, in group exhibition bring your photobook, gallery l'Image son nom, Liège, BE, 2019
noctuary, group expo, Sint Lukas Gallery, Brussels (Schaerbeek), BE, 2016
erienrenee.be
en route vers la montagne, duo with Erien Withouck, Maison de la Création: Centre Culturel BXL Nord, Brussels (Laeken), BE, 2026
je vois, je vois, ce que tu ne vois pas, duo with Erien Withouck, Maison de la Création: Centre Culturel BXL Nord, Brussels (Laeken), BE, 2026
take me to your place, duo with Erien Withouck, Community Centre De Maelbeek, Brussels (Etterbeek), BE, 2023 — and presented in group exhibition XXX OCULI in IMAGINAIR Art/space with HOPPER&FUCHS, Brussels (Ixelles), BE, 2025
qu' est ce que tu as mangé hier ?, duo with Erien Withouck, CCN: Centre Culturel Namur, Namur, BE, 2023
soupah!, cup of tea?, fruit me!, duo with Erien Withouck, Foyer du Sud & municipality St-Gillis & art festival Park Poétik, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2022 & 2023 & 2024 — and presented in Jacques Franck, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2026
web of memories, duo with Erien Withouck, art festival Park Poétik & Avansa Citizenne, Brussels (Forest), BE, 2022
from Mexico to Manchester, duo with Erien Withouck, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2021
collaboration
je te cherche depuis hier, with Fototek Foundation: Vincen Beeckman & Kasper Demeulemeester, Brussels (Forest), BE, 2022
Ardennes, group exhibition with collective 1010, gallery l' Enfant Sauvage, Brussels, BE, 2020
Noordzee, group exhibition with collective 1010, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2019
statues, duo with Eva Beazar, in beloved bodies, KADOK, Leuven, BE, 2019
publication
take me to your place, book publication with Erien Withouck, HOPPER&FUCHS, Antwerp, BE, 2024
shelter, book publication, Edition Du Caïd & Matthieu Litt, book launch at gallery l' Enfant Sauvage, Liège & Brussels, BE, 2024 – launch at Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, FR, 2024
fruit me!, photographic newspaper with Erien Withouck, Foyer du Sud & municipality St-Gillis & art festival Park Poétik, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2024
cup of tea?, photographic newspaper with Erien Withouck, Foyer du Sud & municipality St-Gillis, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2023
soupah!, photographic newspaper with Erien Withouck, Foyer du Sud & municipality St-Gillis & art festival Park Poétik, Brussels (St-Gillis), BE, 2022
skipper, can I cross the river?, book publication with gallery l'Enfant Sauvage Collection, Brussels, BE, 2021
Ardennes, book publication with the collective 1010, gallery l' Enfant Sauvage, Brussels, BE, 2020
and slowly an image started to appear, with Erien Withouck, puzzle-publication, the Blinkerd Editions, Brussels, BE, 2020
Noordzee, book publication with the collective 1010, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2019
noctuary, book publication, Posture Editions, book launch at Netwerk Aalst, Ghent & Aalst, BE, 2019
awards
Futures Photography, European photography platform, 2020
.TIFF, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, BE, 2020
Photobook Awards with noctuary, self-published book, photobook festival, Liège, BE, 2018
exchange
exchange, XXX OCULI, ImaginAIR Art Space, Brussels (Ixelles), BE, 2025
exchange, Salon du Fanzine et de l'autoeditions Namur, Université Namur, Namur, BE, 2025
exchange, Musée de la Photo Charleroi & Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, FR, 2023
exchange, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Hungary, 2020-2021
exchange, SMAK, for exhibition the Photographic I – Other Pictures, Ghent, BE, 2017
reading for Memento woordkunstenfestival Kortrijk, BE, 2023
reading for .TIFF-event, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Antwerp, BE, 2019
reading for DIP-talks, Luca School of Arts, Brussels (Schaerbeek), BE, 2019
reading for the exhibition resistence and young resilience, Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels, BE, 2018
photo workshops, Sint Lukas Brussel, Brussels (Schaerbeek), BE, 2025
photo workshops, Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles, BE, 2023
photo workshops, community centre Het Huys, Brussels (Uccle), BE, 2023
photo workshops, MUS-E, Brussels, BE, 2022 & 2023
curation
photo traject with curated exhibition, Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles, Brussels, BE, 2023 & 2024
kunstoevers, curation and concept, Netwerk Aalst & municipality Aalst, Aalst, BE, 2024
many a moon, curation and concept, Recyclart, Brussels (Molenbeek), BE, 2019
articles
in Wolvendael Magazine, 'L'île aux riches'
in Salon Verlag, 'Dal porto al ponte dal porto al ponte'
in L'intervalle, 'Comme les îles'
in TRIGGER, 'IslandsIslandsIslands'
in BRUZZ, 'Leafing through your 93-year-old neighbour's life: Photography is a way of connecting'
in Rekto:Verso, 'Tip-toe tango – beelden van beroering'
in BRUZZ, 'Il faut pouvoir se montrer vulnérable'
in L'intervalle, 'De l'écriture automatique en photographie, par Renée Lorie'
in .TIFF- magazine, 'Renée Lorie'
education
2007-2016
°shortened bachelor photography;
LUCA school of arts, Brussels, BE
°master film studies and visual culture;
university of Antwerp, BE
°bachelor art history;
university of Ghent, BE