FIFTY ONE TOO presents ‘By Accident’; an exhibition featuring for the first time photographs from the archive of Marcel De Baer (1922 - 2014), former collision expert for the district of Oudenaarde (Belgium). From 1961 to the early 1980s, De Baer had to photograph and analyse every serious traffic accident in his region and prepare a dossier of it for the public prosecutor. The photographs of a.o. twisted wrecks, skid marks and damaged car components he made in this capacity, despite being made for strictly utilitarian purposes, possess a fascinating artistic quality. They are time documents that testify to a changing road safety, but also possess a kind of mysterious accidental beauty. Part of this exceptional archive is know presented for the first time, in an exhibition curated by De Baer’s grandson Erik Bulckens, who recently started scanning and sharing the images of his grandfather to great acclaim (Instagram: byaccident.paraccident).

Artists: Marcel De Baer