Willy Kessels attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Gent and then moved to Brussels, working there as a sculptor and archtitectural draftsman in the 1920s. He began his photographic career in 1929, seeing photography as a modern means of representation. Kessels was very active during the 1920s - 1930s and his photo montages, aerial views, angles and use of light illustrate the modern movement of Belgian photography at the time.
