From Knokke to De Panne
Grand Prize Social Photography -  Snoecks Ghent - BE

Andrea Shkreli studies the pulse of a Belgian seaside and West Flanders province, with emphasis on summer conditions, whereby people are usually revitalised, and reveal themselves, and tourism intermingles with slothful everydayness. His compositions, either snapshots or seemingly uninhabited scenes, are forceful, with careful manipulation of form, beneficial to viewer’s penetration.
Through this synthesis, an environment is discovered, wherein things are randomly exposed. More or less distinctive social, religious, and racial counterpoints evolve, among which people remain at safe distance, even though they are crammed together. Rational order and precise organisation ensure the smooth flow of facts and information, setting up a public space, not always in cohesion, in which visual fallacy sometimes impresses more than the pulsing life.
Good morning West Flanders!                                                                                                            (prints)