Photography as a mirror of the world is also characterised by its extraordinarily widespread use in illustrating the printed materials of all kinds that surround us. Functional and illustrative, sometimes combined with text, in colour or monochrome, the illustrative photograph is an infinite resource for collages and a testament to the omnipresence of the image in our lives, long before the advent of social media.

Lous Martens is a grandparent who has embarked on a project that is as personal as it is unusual: creating a bestiary from cut-out images for each of his five grandchildren (Jaap, Zeno, Anna, Julian and Luca). Comprising images taken from newspapers and various magazines, enhanced with stamps and photographs gleaned from advertising leaflets, these albums take shape as new additions and discoveries are made. Arranged in alphabetical order, the animals are depicted in illustrations and photographs that are both funny and touching. These family bestiaries are a touching embodiment of a grandparent’s love, as well as an everyday artistic practice (none of the five albums was ever completed – Lous Martens explains that the grandchildren, now grown up, thoroughly enjoyed watching these ‘work-in-progress’ gifts evolve over many years). Although they were never intended for publication, Roma Publications successfully proposed – the book is now in its third reprint – bringing them together in a single volume, first published in 2021. A fourth edition is scheduled for release to coincide with BIP2026.

The ANIMALS exhibition presented at BIP2026 forms part of the ‘Babillage, l’art et les tout-petits’ festival, organised annually by the Cultural Centre of Liège ‘Les Chiroux’. It draws on the pages of the book *Animal Books*, which are displayed throughout the space and enlarged. Certain details are highlighted in a scenography that is both light and dense, remaining true to the spirit of the book. Aimed at families and very young children, the exhibition is designed to be adaptable