Documentary

Humans in 2026

Imagine looking at planet Earth as an outsider: that blue-and-white globe that has been orbiting the Sun for 4.5 billion years. More than four billion years after Earth was formed – around 235 million years ago – dinosaurs appeared, ranging from mighty carnivores such as Tyrannosaurus to colossal plant-eaters such as Brachiosaurus. About 66 million years ago, the dinosaurs became extinct.

An unimaginable amount of time later, about 300,000 years ago, modern humans – Homo sapiens – made their appearance. For the vast majority of those 300,000 years, humans lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. It was only 12,000 years ago that people began to settle in permanent locations and ceased to live a nomadic lifestyle.

Since then, there have been many famous cultures and civilizations: the Babylonians, Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Incas and Ottomans, to name just a few. Humans developed language, designed mathematical systems, unravelled the laws of nature, built helicopters and rockets, landed on the Moon, and invented the microscope, the polio vaccine, MRI scans, the internet and AI.

Unfortunately, there is also much that humans can’t do, or at least not yet: cure Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, eradicate cancer, end global poverty, prevent massive food waste, stop bullying in schools, bring peace to the world, eliminate child mortality, develop an economy that has a positive impact on nature instead of a harmful one, and so on.

With a Torch on a Crane

What is Homo sapiens up to these days, in 2026, after 300,000 years of evolution? Too much to capture in a single image, from baking cherry pies to manufacturing nuclear weapons. Yet, through my photographs, I try to document a small slice of what’s going on in society. I immerse myself in the most diverse environments and capture what I see, from Aalst Carnival to a military parade.

In recent years, I have often focused on two specific themes: political demonstrations and rave culture. Why these two? They are colourful enough to explore, from both a photographic and a sociological perspective. They are also different enough from each other to provide me with a broader range of impressions and stories: humans in highly diverse contexts.

My third, overarching theme is nature. Who are all these other creatures walking, crawling, flying, or swimming around here on Earth? Alongside the activist climbing a crane with a torch in her hand, the ecstatic raver dancing in a sweaty basement, or the strong javelin thrower breaking another record, I also photograph the wolf spider, the grasshopper and the jewel beetle.

Nature photography is fascinating not only because it allows you to discover a stunning universe, but also because it reminds you that humans are just one species among many. Like starlings, sturgeons and bison, we are part of the natural world. It would be great if we could pass on that nature – on which we all depend – in a better condition than we found it.

Below you’ll find my photo reports, ranging from farmers’ protests and marches against the animal industry to national strikes, rallies against antisemitism and a gathering following the death of Fabian. Making these photo reports teaches me something about the times we live in and helps me stay in touch with current events, so that my thinking doesn’t develop in a vacuum or an echo chamber, but in the midst of a vibrant society.