What do you see when you envision the future of the Belgian creative scene? For us, we see diverse, unique perspectives, representative of the world around us. That is exactly why we have been working on our 20-something issues since 2014. These editions feature 20 people in their (pre-)twenties who are a guide, an inspiration or an Earlybird for the young generation of today in Belgium. It is the greatest honour to step into the minds of some of the most innovative young people in Belgium; and learn about their dreams, fears, inspirations and even their celebrity crushes. This year’s list was co-curated with Kevin Kotahunyi, founder of Please Add Color.
Sean Van Echelpoel
he/him, 19, visual artist, Antwerp
What do we & our readers need to remember about you?
My way of constructing visual narratives.
What artists are you listening to? /Which records are you playing most right now?/What book are you currently reading?/Which film have you enjoyed lately?
When it comes to music, my taste is very fluid and specified by my mood. The last few months I've been feeling a combo between melancholic indie (Tamino, Bonobo,…) and Trance/Tech House (Burial, Mall Grab,…). Usually, I don’t make enough time to read books, however, I did read one recently about the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi.
What makes your heart go faster these days?
A new connection and the profound flux of love.
What are you doing daily at 9 pm/9 am?
Working & working.
What’s your personal utopia?
Living somewhere in a tropical country in a loft designed by Six N. Five together with my celebrity crush.
What brings you satisfaction?
Finishing a project or work whereby the execution is close to how I imagined it.
How do you relax?
That's something I need to work on. Tbh, I rarely do and don't take time for it. If I do, I like to watch a series in my bath with candles or meditate.
What’s one of your sources of inspiration that may surprise people?
My high sensitivity in relation to my conscious experience of existence.
What would you like to be doing in 10 years’ time?
Running a multidisciplinary creative studio in Paris/London and working with talented people that I love.
What is the latest/future project you are working on?
Hard question to answer, as I’m doing a lot of varied projects at the same time. Every week I work for the high-end fashion store Baby Beluga for all of their social and commerce content. Besides that, I’m doing as usual some photography, branding and art direction projects for clients. The ones I worked on over the past months will be released in the coming weeks and next month.
What will the second part of 2022 bring you?
Hopefully, more travelling, meeting new people and having a better-balanced work/self-relation.
Who is the person that most influenced you throughout your development in life?
Definitely my mother. She gave me the vision and wings within the structure of my development.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned lately?
To keep my feet on the ground and make a balanced mind-heart connection.
Is there anyone in your scene who needs more attention?
Yes, an insanely talented 3d artist I’ve been working with lately, @vitalykiaiev.
Comfort food/speciality dish?
Cereal in the evening and ramen noodles.
Celebrity crush?
Alizée Gamberini (｡ ^‿^ ｡)
Most irrational fear?/Most rational fear?
Spiders and losing someone close to me.
What would be your uniform if you were a cartoon character in a show?
A full black oversized layered uniform, businessman/ninja?
What were you like as a child?
Very sensitive, annoying, curious and creative.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I always had dreams as a kid of being able to fly.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Rain sounds when I’m sleeping.
If there was a book about your life, what would the title be?
Perfect imperfections.
Biggest red flag?
A lack of emotional integrity.
Biggest dream?
Doing what I love with the people I love along with financial and personal freedom.
Favourite quote from a book/movie/show/song?
You have to get lost before you find yourself - Paper towns.
What kind of shoots and collaborations have you done lately?
My last shoot was for WEEKDAY with the most amazing talent Sadiq Desh, which came out a few weeks later. The most recent collaboration I’m working on is something very exciting together with Jani Kazaltzis, more I can’t say.
How did you begin working with Please Add Color?
I met Kevin for the first time in 2019 and found a connection. We've been doing projects together ever since.
Portrait shot by @elkovanraemdonck
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