Braeckman’s personal engagement with his images unlocks a world beyond the image—built on the power of suggestion, the beauty of absence, and the poetry of destruction. He transforms fleeting moments into universal impressions, pushing the visible to the background to give form to the invisible. This desire and pursuit is evident both in his choice of subjects and in his emphasis on the textures and physicality of a photograph. Every wrinkle, blemish, or faded patch in the image serves as a reminder that a photograph is not merely a window onto reality—it is an object with its own material story. Braeckman frequently combines analog methods and traditional darkroom techniques with digital editing. The materiality of the photo—the paper, the surface, the texture—is central. His images are not just representations, but objects that evoke a near-tactile presence. Each subtle gray tone, every grain and imperfection, contributes to the distinctive blend of distance and intimacy that defines his work. In his image-making, Braeckman employs whatever tools are at hand, from chemical processes to digital manipulation and AI—always starting from his own archive. By making his interventions visible and embracing the ambiguous nature of the image, he reveals the constructed lie of each image and the multiplicity of meanings it can carry. His images raise more questions than they offer answers.