Frédéric Demeuse grew up in Brussels, close to the Sonian Forest, a vast beech woodland just beyond the city limits. Early encounters with small woodland creatures and the subtleties of forest life shaped his sensibility toward nature. Over time, he turned to photography as a means to traverse deeper into ecosystems less frequented, capturing forests and landscapes whose rhythms operate largely out of view. His ongoing series Forgotten Places aims to preserve traces of these delicate realms.
In his imagery, Demeuse emphasizes simplicity: trunks, moss, branches, and ambient light converge in compositions that feel elemental yet deeply considered. He revisits some forests across seasons, noticing how leaf litter shifts, how bark ages, and how understory plants recalibrate. At the same time, he ventures to distant woodlands in other countries, hoping to reveal the continuity — and fragility — of forests around the globe. His work suggests that each forest carries a distinctive signature in its textures and geometry.
Underlying his approach is an awareness of how much our connection to wild nature has eroded. Over the last two centuries, our direct engagement with natural settings has diminished significantly, leaving many people disconnected from forested realms. Demeuse’s photographs act as visual records of forest life at varying scales, reminding us of how much remains unspoken in the green depths. He sees this as more than aesthetics: it’s a kind of call to reconsider how we treat the living landscapes around us.
In the end, Demeuse pitches his work as a form of gentle insistence on seeing what lingers in the margins of human experience. He encourages an attitude of respect and humility in how we approach our surroundings, especially those places that exist beyond the bounds of everyday notice. His images remain anchored to a belief in continuity — of forests, seasons, and deep natural rhythms — that persist even when they slip beyond common perception.
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