216 pages Texts by Sofie Rycken Photographs by Nick Decombel Designed by Robin De Boelpaep (Studio Lannoo) 27.8 × 20.8 cm Language: Dutch, English Hardback Publisher: Lannoo 2026
A mural can change the way you see a whole street. In The Crystal Ship, Nick Decombel’s photographs keep the buildings and streets of Ostend in view, so the works can be seen in the places they were made. The book follows the Belgian coastal festival from its first edition in 2016, gathering nearly a hundred works still visible across the city.
Arranged chronologically, the photographs show how artists as different as ROA, David Shrigley, Aryz and Jaune work at the scale of a city. Interviews with eleven participants, including Escif, Helen Bur and the duo Medianeras, bring the artists’ perspectives into the book. The result is both a record of the festival and a way to explore Ostend through the art that has become part of its streets.
