Anneleen Bouttery

Anneleen Bouttery (Belgium, 1986)

was awarded her bachelor’s degree in photography

this year at Sint-Lukas Brussels

University College of Art and Design. In

Fallen Forest she documents a piece of

woodland near Bruges that was scheduled

to be felled to make way for industrial

buildings. Almost ten years ago the controversy

about that clearance led to activists

occupying the woods. They were forcibly

ejected by the police a year later. Two years

ago, when felling was actually due to start,

a second occupation began. After negotiations,

most of the activists left, but a hardcore

remained who refused to be budged.

Bouttery photographed the watchtower

and the huts the activists had built in the

woods over the years; one of the huts was

even built on a pond. The photos radiate

a serenity that contrasts sharply with the

fierceness of the public debate about this

wood. Ultimately, the activists were defeated

when the police intervened in spring

2010. The camp was cleared and the trees

were felled.