Tomas Van Houtryve on “Blue Sky Days”

Tomas Van Houtryve published his project “Blue Sky Days” in Harper’s as the largest photo portfolio in the magazine’s 164-year history, which engages with themes of surveillance, personal privacy, and war through drone photography. In this video, Tomas gives insight into the history of war photojournalism, his reasons for embarking on this documentary project, and the complex reception the project has received.

Tomas van Houtryve is a conceptual artist, photographer and author whose major works interweave investigative journalism, philosophy and metaphor. Van Houtryve makes images using a wide range of processes, ranging from 19th century wet plate collodion to thermal imaging and Augmented Reality. His projects challenge our notions of identity, memory and power, often by highlighting the slippage of wartime structures into everyday life.

Van Houtryve’s works are widely exhibited including at the Baudoin Lebon gallery, Paris (2019), BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (2018), International Center for Photography Museum, New York (2017), Museum für Fotografie, Berlin (2017), Galerija Vartai, Vilnius (2017), Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem (2016-2017), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (2016-2017), British Museum, London (2016), Anastasia Photo Gallery, New York (2016), Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen (2016), Nikola Rukaj Gallery, Toronto (2016), Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis (2016), East Wing Gallery, Dubai (2015), Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (2015), Drents Museum, Assen (2015), Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona (2015) and other venues.