Mission Dhuicque 1915-18 / 2015

Toen de Eerste Wereldoorlog kwam vast te zitten in de bekende stellingenoorlog in West-Vlaanderen, was geen enkel historisch gebouw in de frontzone nog veilig voor de alles verwoestende granaten van beide legers. Middeleeuwse stadscentra, kerken en kloosters met eeuwenoude kunstschatten en archieven, alles liep gevaar. De Belgische regering organiseerde een reddingsactie en plaatste architect-fotograaf Eugène Dhuicque aan het hoofd van een missie die het bedreigde erfgoed zou inventariseren, fotograferen en zoveel als het kon in veiligheid zou brengen. De Mission Dhuicque.

In 1915 the then Belgian government mounted a rescue operation which consisted in inventorying the medieval town centres, churches and convents with their age-old art treasures in the front zone of West Flanders in order to salvage them from the devastation of the First World War. This operation would become known as the Mission Dhuicque. As the war wore on, this team, directed by the architect and photographer Eugène Dhuicque, more than once arrived after the damage had been done, sparking Dhuicque's fascination for the image of 'Het Verwoeste Gewest' (the devastated region). Hence, what was originally meant to be an objective picture inventory slowly developed into an idiosyncratic series of portraits of battered monuments.
Photographer Kris Vandevorst has selected a vast anthology of pictures from this unsettling photographic collection, dozens of which are in colour, which was absolutely unique for that time. He juxtaposes them with current pictures of the restored items of heritage, offering a better understanding of Eugène Dhuicque's mode of operation in the process.