Some characteristics that tell a little more about the person Karen De Vleeschhouwer, behind the artist #raKen: authentic, engaged, creative, empathetic, sensitive, instinctive, mom, restless, open-minded, righteous, generous, caring.
And besides:
'In a world where it often seems like everyone just rolls along, Karen wants -for herself and for her family- to make the invisible visible.'
During her photography training, a hitherto invisible world opened up to Karen, a world in which people communicated with images... She could finally 'read along', a relief. She can choose where to sit in the classroom, she no longer has to take extra classes, she can help others instead of having to ask for help herself, she is (usually) attentive during class, she enjoys going to class ... she becomes a visible student.
Years before, another world opens up ... that of motherhood. The most beautiful and challenging world of all!
Three chicks who are easy to be loved! Three chicks who are too little seen in their invisible piece. As a mother hen, Karen creates images that speak without words, revealing the harsh, sometimes all-consuming, lonely, heartbreaking nuances and daily challenges of the invisible. She wants to show the world that not everyone can live up to society's expectations, even if it appears so from the outside. Hence, she uses medical footage and skeletons, among other things. These only become visible while digging deeper.
Karen's message is clear: “let's look beyond what is visible, show understanding and mildness for the invisible stories that each of us carries with us..."