In 2022, Bieke Depoorter held a major solo exhibition entitled *A Chance Encounter* at the C/O Photography Museum in Berlin. There, she presented two series that began with chance encounters. These centred on the now-discontinued project ‘A.’ and ‘Michael’, which is still ongoing.
Many visitors were impressed by the enigmatic images from the ‘Michael’ project.
These photographs explore the boundary between the observable and the imagination that takes over.
During PAN, we are showing a selection of landscapes from the ongoing ‘Michael’ project, in which Magnum Photographer Bieke Depoorter investigates the disappearance of a man she met in Portland, Oregon. After he gave her three suitcases full of scrapbooks and archive material, he vanished without a trace. Since then, Bieke has embarked on a quest to find out his whereabouts and, at the same time, has begun to delve into this person’s identity.


Bieke Depoorter:
“I’ve traveled around Mount Hood several times over the past years. To be close to the mountain, and maybe to feel closer to Michael too.

I fell in love with the mountain and felt enchanted each time Hood appeared behind a house, the highway, or if its crest peaked between the trees.

At times, I forgot why I went there. I hiked and drove around aimlessly. I felt lost. I didn’t remember what I was looking for.”