We are proud to announce the talented photographer Philippe Braquenier as the new BrIAS/OHME Resident Artist for the 2026 BrIAS season. As is tradition, Philippe will attend the events of the ’26 BrIAS season titled Democratic Governance: Challenges and Innovations to draw inspiration to create his art piece: NRx. This piece will be presented during the closing ceremony of the Season, which will be announced shortly.
About the artist
Philippe Braquenier is a Belgian visual artist based in Brussels. Fascinated by knowledge – how it is collected, used, shared and stored, his work explores our obsession with information at a time when data is becoming ever more omnipresent yet increasingly invisible. With a restrained and impassive perspective, he connects these ideas to broader questions of evolution, heritage, and the precarious nature of the digital revolution.
He holds a Bachelor in photography from the HELB and worked in the advertising industry until 2016. Since his shift to artistic practice, he has exhibited at the Aperture Foundation in New York, the Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2018), and the JIMEI x Arles International Photo Festival, among other institutions and galleries. He was a finalist for the Louis Roederer Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2020.
NRx
NRx takes inspiration from Curtis Yarvin’s controversial “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy, using it as a critical framework to examine how democratic institutions are crumbling in Brussels – the capital of Europe and symbol of progressive democracy.
Philippe’s photographic project focuses on the the city’s failing democratic infrastructure through a deliberately neutral, documentary lens inspired by Bernd and Hilla Becher: the decaying Palais de Justice, the chronically underfunded Public Prosecutor’s Office, the paralyzed Brussels Parliament, media outlets like RTBF and Le Soir, and university campuses facing political pressure.
These stark black-and-white images will be projected onto white flags hung at half-mast, creating a powerful visual metaphor for democratic surrender. The entire installation will be bathed in black light – a literal “dark enlightenment”- with research data inscribed in UV-reactive ink, making the invisible pressures on democracy suddenly, starkly visible.
