Catalog published on the occasion of the exhibition ?Dirk Braeckman. Echtzeit 29/03/24-19/01/25 at FOMU. Braeckman is interested in photographs with imperfections, in empty interiors, everyday objects, evocative places or objects that leave much to the imagination. He has chosen from the FOMU collection functional photographs, made without artistic ambition. He recognised certain qualities and commonalities with his own work in these atypical images. Rephotography and experimentation have always formed part of Braeckman?s artistic practice, though the trajectory to the final image is always different. For the FOMU exhibition, he worked for the first time with an existing collection of photos. Braeckman took photos of the chosen images and printed them. He then over-painted, smeared or cut holes in the prints. He photographed the results and processed them further in his analogue and digital darkroom. The original meaning of the photographs has been altered through the removal of context, the change in format and the addition of titles. A functional document is transformed into a piece of art, a timeless visual poem that raises more questions than it answers. ?Echtzeit? refers to Braeckman?s bridging of the past and present. Simultaneously and in real-time, three perspectives: of the original photographer, of Braeckman and of us, the viewers come together. The Kaiserpanorama is again part of the collection exhbition this year: a highlight of the FOMU Collection, on display again after undergoing a complete restoration. The device was a modern piece of automated machinery when it was made in 1905 and presented a 3D photographic spectacle to the public. Twenty-five people at a time can sit on stools circling the viewing cabinet and enjoy the magic of three-dimensional images. Dirk Braeckman has selected fifty new stereo images from the FOMU collection for the panorama. Would you like to see this unique machine in action? The Kaiserpanorama is set in motion every first Sunday of the month.