Photographer fascinated by the things people showcase behind their windows

Now available in bookshops and online: Strange Things Behind Belgian Windows. It’s exactly what the title says it is: a series of photos of the strange and intriguing objects people display behind their windows, for passers-by to look at. A stuffed fox, a portrait of Christ, a dusty Egyptian bust, a globe with gaudy colours, … you name it, and Jean-Luc Feixa has it on his camera-roll.

Jean-Luc Feixa hails from France and moved to Brussels in 2013. He roamed the streets and avenues of his new homeland for months, with his camera in hand, curious about the hidden spots and the unique colours of Belgium. He started to be drawn to the strange, funny, cute, sometimes plain ugly and almost always completely puzzling things people display behind their windows. From skulls next to toilet plungers to goldfish, from a meat grinder (we kid you not!) to lots of pictures of cats… you can’t make these things up. Many of these tableaus will make you smile, frown or, who knows, even stop and reflect. They are exhibited like treasures behind a glass screen, inviting you to wonder about the stories behind them, or about the daily lives going on behind the façade.

And that’s precisely what Jean-Luc Feixa did. Once the little scenes behind windows had caught his attention, he couldn’t help but look for them behind every window, peeking behind half-drawn curtains. He started photographing all those little scenes and things on display. Sometimes he felt a bit like an intruder while doing so, other times he made contact with the people behind the windows. 

Jean-Luc used to think of Belgium as a slightly greyish country, but thanks to this photo project he let himself be surprised by his new home’s diversity. In his photos he manages to catch that typically Belgian oddity that’s so hard to put into words: colourful, quirky and a bit surrealistic. For this book, he selected 160 of his favourite photos and wrote a personal introduction, explaining the why and how of his project. He also selected a few quotes that offer an interesting perspective on a number of photos in his book.

Jean-Luc Feixa is a photographer with more than 15 years of experience; he worked as a press photographer and journalist, before deciding to focus on his own photo projects.

• Strange Things Behind Belgian Windows
• Jean-Luc Feixa
• 208 pages, 17 x 12 cm, softcover
• 160 photos
• Introduction and quotes in English
• First published: 6 March 2020
• Available in bookshops and online: www.curiousbelgium.be
• Published by Luster: www.lusterweb.com
• Retail price: € 17,50