Ink, Memory, and the Shadows We Carry

There’s something magnetic about the outlaw. Perhaps it’s the way he wears the weight of a story on his skin, or the way his scars feel more honest than any polished suit in a boardroom. In Brussels this autumn, Belgian photographer and filmmaker Nicolas Wieërs invites us to lean into that magnetism with Surrounded by Criminals — a raw, haunting exploration of the Vory v Zakone, the “thieves-in-law” of the former Soviet Union.

For nearly a decade, Wieërs embedded himself in Moldova and Transnistria, gaining rare access to a brotherhood that lives — and often dies — by its own code. Their tattoos, intricate and brutal, are not fashion but survival: a secret language of loyalty, hierarchy, and resistance. Each mark is both confession and declaration.

The exhibition unfolds across six eclectic Brussels locations — from the stately AGORA hall at the Bourse to ink-stained tattoo studios, culminating at the Brussels Tattoo Convention. It’s less a gallery show than a cultural trail, a city-wide journey into the tension between stigma and dignity. Nearly 140 black-and-white prints, ten video testimonies, and drawings by artist Yuri Palkov form an immersive archive of lives written in flesh.

But Surrounded by Criminals isn’t about voyeurism. It’s about perception. It asks: who gets to define “criminal”? The tattooed ex-prisoner with a code of honor — or the men in tailored suits siphoning billions while sipping Burgundy? Wieërs holds up a mirror, reminding us that the lines between outlaw and elite are not as neat as we like to believe.

This exhibition resonates beyond aesthetics. It touches on masculinity stripped of pretense — bodies scarred but unapologetically real. It asks us to rethink strength, not as dominance, but as survival; not as the absence of vulnerability, but as its inscription.

And perhaps that’s the allure. In an age obsessed with curated surfaces, these portraits reveal the opposite: uncurated humanity. They force us to confront our own shadows, to acknowledge that liberation is not always polished — sometimes, it’s rough, inked, and imperfectly beautiful.

Brussels doesn’t always reveal its secrets at first glance — but this October, they’re etched into the city itself. Surrounded by Criminals unfolds as a cultural treasure hunt through six locations:

• AGORA Hall, Bourse — Place de la Bourse, 1000 Brussels

• NATHALIE AUZEPY L’Impératrice Studio — Rue de Laeken 83, 1000 Brussels

• MUE Tattoo Shop — Rue de la Paix 53, 1050 Ixelles

• Inksane Tattoo & Piercing — Chaussée de Louvain 512, 1030 Schaerbeek

• Le Poste — Place du Jeu de Balle, 1000 Brussels

• Brussels Tattoo Convention at Tour & Taxis — Avenue du Port 86C, 1000 Brussels (Nov 7–9)

Together, these stops transform the city into a living gallery. Step inside, let the images unsettle and seduce, and remember: true culture isn’t only in the spotlight. It’s in the shadows we dare to explore