Your art is…

The patient objects in my art often take on the role of supporting actors until I let you see them through my eyes. The reality reflected in my photographs appears slightly removed, in a sense centred and alive in its motionlessness.

Which professional success meant the most to you?

My work "Master of Things" in which I photograph curious collections over two years, was published on eleven pages in Stern magazine. In particular, the focus on photographs, which often take up a whole or a double page, but also long reportages and a predominantly reportage-like writing style are trademarks of Stern. The visual language is actually quite different from mine, so I was all the more pleased that they printed my pictures.

Could you eat cheesecake for a whole week?

Unfortunately, not anymore - I once ate too much cheesecake over a long period of time so that I lost my appetite. Now I eat mostly pistachio cakes, chocolate cake with peanut butter or lemon tart. If I like something, I eat quite a lot of it in a short time and at some point I never feel like it again. Then, fortunately, there is something new.

Analog or Digital?

The result must be a good picture, regardless of whether it was taken with analog or digital technology. For me it does not matter and I find these discussions simply superfluous.

Where do you go when you want to be with you?

I go to bed with a piece of cake or a bag of peanut chips.

Tell us something about your education

I was born in 1986 in Nordhausen in the Harz Mountains, studied visual communication at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau. In 2017 I decided to express my feeling for compositions of colours, forms and arrangements through another medium – photography. I studied at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin Weissensee between 2017 and 2020. My passion is still life. I succeeds in constructing visually exciting pictures from ordinary things by means of an extraordinary design. Besides exhibitions at the Copenhagen Photo Festival (2020) or the LUMIX Festival (2020) I can also already look back on a series of publications, including in the photo magazines "Der Greif" and "Photonews", Stern Magazine, Tagesspiegel and Berliner Zeitung.

Why photography?

I try to depict things as I see them. For me, photography is the appropriate medium for this. When I work in the studio, I think in advance about which set might suit which object and then start building the images. When I'm on the road, I can capture moments quickly that way. For me, photography is always also a documentation of my past and my life.

What was the weirdest encounter, the craziest adventure or the most beautiful moment you experienced on a shoot?

When I had done a hiking tour in the jungle in the north of Thailand in 2011, I photographed a lot in caves. I hiked through a river in a cave with my camera on my head so it wouldn't get wet. The water was up to my head and everything was dark. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. I was very scared and it was totally dark. When I made it, this was probably the most exciting moment as a photographer for me.

What part of the human face is your favorite?

I find the nose very interesting. I am not so happy with it and often look at other people's noses. Then I think that the nose contributes a lot to the appearance and people who have their nose beautified often look like another person afterwards.

Where does your inspiration live?

My inspiration lives in refreshing conversations with friends or strangers, art exhibitions and movies. Actually, I am inspired by the work of earlier generations.

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Until recently, it was driving a car. I was always very afraid of it and had this fear treated with hypnosis. What I will probably never do, unfortunately, is cave diving. There are just too many senses restricted and it scares me, although I would like to do it once.