“The combination of compelling storytelling and unexpected image selections makes 200 Years of Looking an exceptional experience for any audience.”
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Peter Ruyffelaere, Publisher Ludion
In 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the world’s first photograph: a blurred yet revolutionary image that revealed, for the first time, how the world could see itself. Since then, it is not only photography — the earliest of the new media — that has changed, but above all our way of seeing. How we look, what we look through and what we believe we see have all evolved continuously. This evolution was shaped by pioneers who helped spread the medium, as well as by artists, scientists, inventors and ordinary people who introduced entirely new ways of seeing.
In the public lecture 200 Years of Seeing, Christoph Ruys takes the audience on a thought-provoking journey through two centuries of visual culture. Rather than offering a conventional chronological overview, he presents a series of images that have collectively shaped our gaze: from scientific experiments to mass communication, from analogue craftsmanship to digital abundance, and from documentary testimony to the emergence of AI-generated realities. This journey explores how our gaze has evolved and why that matters. Which images endure, and which disappear? How do photography, media and technology influence what we consider to be ‘truth’? And what can science teach us about how we see, remember and trust?
At a time when images are more fleeting, more easily manipulated and more numerous than ever, 200 Years of Seeing offers an accessible yet challenging invitation to reflect on the origins, impact and future of our visual culture.
200 Years of Seeing is ideal for cultural centres, museums, libraries, festivals, educational institutions and organisations seeking to engage a broad audience in reflecting on the power of images and the future of our visual culture.
Contact christophruys1@gmail.com or request further information and a tailored proposal.
11/05/2026 - De Krook, Gent
21/05/2026 - Abby, Kortrijk
26/05/2026 - De Groene Waterman, Antwerpen
02/06/2026 - Barboek, Leuven
09/06/2026 - Minard, Gent
07/10/2026 - Theaterzaal Biekorf Brugge
13/10/2026 - Bibliotheek Dendermonde
01/12/2026 - Campus Sint-Lucas Antwerpen
08/12/2026 - CC Schoten
16/12/2026 - KASK Gent
01/03/2027 - Cultuurcentrum Knokke-Heist
We live in an age in which people claim they no longer trust images, while at the same time relying on them more than ever. BILD takes this paradox as its point of departure. Rather than presenting a chronological overview of genres or iconic figures, it explores how photography evolved over two hundred years (from 1826 to 2026) from a scientific technique into a cultural belief system.
From its very beginnings, photography became science, evidence, memory, archive, family history, propaganda and desire. At the same time, it produced enduring myths: objectivity, truth, authenticity, democratisation and technological progress. Myths, in this context, are not lies, but shared beliefs that determine what appears credible and how we understand the world.
From the earliest photographs to synthetic images, BILD traces how these myths continually resurface. While deepfakes and algorithms are undermining our trust in images, images themselves have never been more powerful. They organise attention, produce memories, drive consumption, influence politics and shape how we see ourselves and one another.
This book is not only about 200 years of photography. It is about how Western society sees. It asks why the new image technologies of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries produce ‘new’ belief systems, while we continue to embrace the same myths.
© Sébastien Reuzé | Fata Morgana cascadeur | Galerie Quatre Arles | 2021
Featuring work by Frederik Vercruysse, Vincent Fournier, Dalit Steinbrecher, Dominique Somers, Viviane Sassen, Sara Blokland, Ine Lamers, Ute Behrend, Liliya Chavaga, Pauline Le Pichon, Bastiaan Woudt, Justin Amrhein, Roger Ballen, Gert Jochems, Els Martens, Christophe De Munck, Nick Meek, Niina Vatanen, Alison Rossiter, Abelardo Morell, Quinten Vermeulen, Katrien De Blauwer, Griet Van de Velde, Pierre Debusschere / Art + Commerce, Michel Mazzoni, Nico Dockx, Olya Pegova, Walead Beshty, Artem Humilevskyi, Kmar Douagi, Vincent Geyskens, Jacob Lambrecht, Jan Rosseel, Tetiana Bohuslavska, Carolina Dutca & Valentin Sidorenko, Anouk Kruithof, Thorsten Brinkmann, Walid Raad, Letha Wilson, Mashid Mohadjerin, Domenico Barra, Tatjana-Aleksandra Aljautdinova, James Casebere, Gabriel Hernandez, Mariken Wessels, Benoit Aquin, Stijn Terpstra, Penelope Umbrico, Susanne Wellm, Noé Sendas, Ligia Popławska, Paul Seawright, Clare Strand, Nicolas Grospierre, Elina Brotherus, Tronje Thole Van Ellen, Hashim Nasr Hashim Hamza, Catherine Lemblé, Norberto Pezzotta, SITU Research, Florence Alwajih, Sébastien Reuzé, Patrick Everaert, Ruud van Empel, Marcel Top, Polina Schneider & Céline Haeberly / Collective 22, Yixu Wang, Rob Hornstra, Max Pinckers, Michael Danner, Julie Cockburn, Liz Deschenes, Garry Fabian Miller and Ria Verhaeghe.
Bild will be published on 30 October 2026 by MER, the art book imprint of Borgerhoff & Lamberigts.
Christoph Ruys explores how visual culture shapes the way we see ourselves and the world. Through mycurrentstateofmind.world, he examines the interplay between images and imagination. In doing so, he acts as a bridge-builder between disciplines and generations, between intuition and reflection, and between established frameworks and new ways of seeing.
Professor History of Photography and Contemporary Visual Culture (LUCA, School of Arts, Brussels)
Director of the PhotoMuseum Antwerp and the Fashion Museum Antwerp
Senior Publisher Ludion Art Books (Brussels)
Curator & writer
The Guy Bourdin Estate, Erwin Olaf, William Klein, Yohji Yamamoto, Vincent Fournier, Paul Seawright, Bernhard Willhelm, Maison Martin Margiela, Anton Corbijn, Roger Ballen, Ed van der Elsken Foundation, Felix Van Groeningen, Bert Houbrechts, Raf Simons & Priska Morger, Craigie Horsfield, Carl De Keyzer, Tim Van Steenbergen, The Foundation Magritte, Luc Tuymans, Serge Leblon, Albert Watson, Robbrecht and Daem Architects, Delvaux, Designers Against Aids, Marie-Françoise Plissart, Filip Claus, Bjorn Tagemose, Crepain Binst Architects, Henry Bond…
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