Fermeture définitive

I am a Dutch photographer who has spent decades crisscrossing through France. I have witnessed over the years how more and more small shops and family-run hotels are disappearing from the towns and villages. Many shop windows of traditional butchers, bakers, caterers, etc., stand empty or are even boarded up.
As a result, the social function of these small shops as meeting places is disappearing. Furthermore, the craftsmanship that was passed on from generation to generation is also disappearing.
The arrival of large-scale supermarkets and international hotel chains is one of the causes of this phenomenon, and with each economic crisis, this unfortunate development is accelerated.
These empty shops, lovingly built, designed and operated in times gone by, now offer a desolate sight and fall into complete disrepair until little more remains than an almost abstract and sad skeleton.
Born in the Netherlands in 1949, Jo Brunenberg discovered photography at fourteen and was immediately fascinated by the medium’s magic. One of his first series was Atlantikwal, in which he set the vulnerable, naked male body against the harsh concrete architecture of the German defensive line on France’s Normandy coast.
Now, over 50 years later, Brunenberg’s work is widely published and exhibited in galleries across Europe and North America. Recurring themes in his work are the male nude, architecture, and topography.
Submit your work to be considered for solo or group exhibitions in Head On Photo Festival. The last day to submit work is Sunday, 23 March.
Work up close with two of Australia’s pre-eminent photographers, explore regional Australia from a unique viewpoint, meet new people and develop your photographic practice!