For one of his latest projects, Stig spent five years travelling back and forth to Los Angeles, capturing an intimate portrait of the local lowrider community. Rather than reaffirming some of the prevailing stereotypes attached to this community, he uncovered a unique cultural phenomenon called ‘Sunday Funday’: parking lot gatherings and boulevards filled with local Latinx and Black communities, who find unity in their shared reverence of tuned lowrider cars. Here he reflects on his position of being an outsider and how you capture a subculture in the most authentic way.
Stig De Block
‘I have spent five years capturing this community and their stamp of approval meant a lot to me. When I felt like I had completed a series, the first thing I did was to go back to present the outcome to them. It was received well – which obviously was great — but what funnily enough also transpired was a different approach of what we deem worth photographing.’
BIO
Stig De Block’s photography is characterized by strong colour palettes and graphic line work that explore the imaginative possibilities of his surroundings. Compositions are inspired by the razor sharp aesthetics of 20th century Photorealist paintings and Fauvism. A director too, his story driven documentary approach and cinematic eye finds explicit beauty in the authentic.
Residing between Antwerp, Belgium & Los Angeles, the latter was where he built his “Back to Back – From Backyard to Boulevard” -a body of work tributing lowrider culture in LA. Stig de Block works mostly in the realm of fashion for clients varying from Heron Preston to Louis Vuitton, Missoni, Nike, Wrangler and M, Le Monde.
SHOWS
BACK TO BACK – Art Basel
Solo – Scope Miami x Photo Basel, Miami Beach, FL, USA
BACK TO BACK – Rencontres d’Arles
Group – Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, FR, EU
BACK TO BACK – Photo London
Solo – Photo London Photography Fair, London, UK
MUSE – Black Gallery
Group – Curated by Delfina Piatt, YCC @ Guggenheim, ANTW, BE
PRESS
It’s Nice That