Only 48 hours in Antwerp? Make the most of every moment …
Story created on Sep 11, 2017
Bjorn Tagemose, Visual artist
Visual artist, fashion photographer, video director: it’s difficult to put Antwerp Swede Bjorn Tagemose in one category. No location or idea is too challenging for him when it comes to developing a spectacular multimedia project for it. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Adidas and Nike have already used his talent and he also created the live shows of The Hives, Editors and Kane. Not that we are the namedropping kind but he also works with The Simple Minds, Juliette Lewis, DJ Tiëston, Macy Gray, David Beckham, Sinead O’Connor, and many more. Tagemose travels the world, but he has lost his heart in Antwerp.
“I grew up in the streets around Conscienceplein. A fantastic neighbourhood, which has always had a very artistic atmosphere. My mother was Flemish, my father Danish. I now live in Antwerp-Zuid but during the holiday months I stay in Sweden. The creative Antwerp vibes in combination with the Swedish peace and quiet and simplicity provide the right balance.”
“Antwerp encourages cross-fertilisation between art forms. And I like that. Music, movies, fashion: all these disciplines are intertwined with each other. Rock groups have a sense of styling, the fashion world like to incorporate rock elements, just look at Walter Van Beirendonck. There are no limits anymore. My work combines this pure rock ‘n’ roll with a clean aesthetic. Of course I encounter many creative soul mates here. The amount of artistic talent per square metre in Antwerp is simply mind-boggling. We dare to look beyond our borders, fly our own course, constantly exchange ideas, dare to say what we think and launch ourselves into our projects. It is precisely this individuality, which has contributed to Antwerp’s reputation as a world-class art city.”
“The Scheldt bend and the quays are my favourite place to work. I have already worked in some of the most amazing places in the world but Antwerp is simply better suited to some projects. The harshness of locations such as Linkeroever (the Left Bank), the former railway sheds in Antwerpen-Noord, the waterfront: I just can’t find that anywhere else. I recognize that same raw feeling in the work of Tuymans or Dries Van Noten.”
I will never again skip Antwerp”, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam once told me after an amazing performance at the Lotto Arena. The energy in this city is amazingly inspiring for an artist.
Story created on March 7, 2013
