Looking (at the ocean)

If you look at the sea, your view is unspoiled. This ‘sea or ocean panorama’ is to me. the only one that gives rise to a sense of infinity, adventure and expectation. The sea suggests the chance to explore → I see the horizon as something that you can never reach but you would like to get at anyway. This is linked to a certain fear of the unknown.

The Belgian seaside is covered in cement. As a child I remember the boardwalk in Koksijde and how I spent → a lot of time looking at the ocean. I remember swimming with my grandmother in the sea; she would play with me in the cold waves for hours.

I used to spend a lot of time on piers looking at the sea. I had no boat and did not find it necessary to have one. For me, the sea was just a place of separation from the boredom of suburbia/of civilization. I approached it as a hermitage, a place of retreat and of endless discovery.

I was by myself on the beach + throwing rocks. I would just sit + watch the ripples the rocks made on the surface. I still love walking on the seashore, feeling the wind on my face + listening to the waves. I just sit + watch the horizon and what is behind the horizon. It opens up a lot of ideas about how movement occurs. From France, you can see England from across the channel. When I was in Marseille → I was thinking of Algeria when looking out into the sea. There’s a moment of connecting through the horizon.

I love watching the tides. My relation to the sea is defined by proximity and observation. But its not about the sea surrounding me I’m just accepted in its proximity.