Koen Cobbaert’s work is situated on the cross-roads between photography and theater. It reflects on theater, on its principles and also on how it principles are active in daily life (Social Theater, work in progress). Some of his work is used as a basis for theatrical performances (La Rivière Verte) or becomes a performance in itself (Dame Jeanne, work in progress).

Often working with actors and dancers he follows a creative process as he was taught at De Kleine Academie, a school for creative theater. It is a collaborative approach in which model, photographer, stylist, dramaturge, scenographer and other artists all work on par rather than in a hierarchical structure dominated by director or photographer. He usually does not start from an idée-fix or with a mise-en-scene in mind, but prefers to create conditions in which the participating artists can improvise, adding structure and a sense of direction. The conditions are found by investigating the subject matter with an open mind, resisting proclaiming “what it is” long enough to authentically ask “what is it?”. He then may look for ways to amplify or distort the material found and to create a dialogue between the location and the subject as he feels a space influences the way we position ourselves, move or feel, but likewise a space is changed by what we do.