A while ago, someone pointed out that hair plays a prominent role in many of my photos. At first, I was surprised and didn't think hair would be that significant for my photography. But I soon came to realize that hair is the perfect instrument to add texture, color, and movement to nude photographs. It certainly isn't skin, but it's also not foreign to the body and person. I then began to purposely play with the shape and texture of hair and ways to incorporate it in abstract, sculptural nude photography. The image "Hefezopf" is one example of this conscious yet playful endeavor.

The name "Hefezopf" is, in all honesty, nothing but silly wordplay. The literal translation is "yeast braid," which is a German sweet bread that is, in fact, braided and then baked. It seemed very funny to me in the moment and kind of embarrassing now seeing it displayed in a large art contest.

Whoever I portray, whether they are female or male perceived people, I'm always most interested in creating a sculptural composition. In a way, the portrayal of a naked human body is, of course, very intimate and personal. However, I try to abstract this familiar human form to be something somewhat strange and intangible. There are no faces in this photo, no explicit female forms, and no actual hints of the personality of the portrayed. This tension between familiarity, intimacy, and vulnerability versus estranged forms and abstraction is, in my opinion, one way to desexualize the female or really any human's nude form.

There are so many amazingly talented artists who I admire deeply. To name a small selection: David Szubotics, Chantal Convertini, Catia Simões, Shannon Tomasik, Hannes Caspar, Tia Danko, Marit Beer, Kantorka, Ellard Vasen, Manon Deck-Sablon, Ryan Muirhead, Mar Nadler, Nanne Springer, Lucas Cerri, Arnoldas Kubilius, Nanda Hagenaars, Juul Kraijer, Viki Kollerová, and Brooke DiDonato.

Analog photography is a much-needed limitation for me. It forces me to think carefully about my compositions, design a set, plan things in detail, and prepare myself for the shoot. Every picture is planned and intentional. I only shoot each composition once, aiming to have ten usable images among ten shots. I would never be able to make this cut digitally because, in my experience, photography becomes less precise, more careless, and less clean. I can't afford to do that with analog, making every picture more valuable to me.

It is also good for my personal photographic “pride” or self-conception to know that a photo was taken as I intended and because I realized it accordingly. If I were to take 700 pictures from a session and find ten good ones among them, I personally would not have the feeling that these photos were the result of my photographic knowledge, experience or effort, but rather that they were accidental hits. It wouldn't feel like “my” picture, but arbitrary and random.

For me, every analog photo is associated with a high degree of care, attention, planning, time, effort and, of course, cost. As a result, each image carries a special weight and value that I personally just don't feel the same way about digital photographs.

Unfortunately, my studies and work often prevent me from dedicating more time to photography. I have to be very selective about my projects and the time I spend creating. So, I am all the happier to be part of a collective of incredibly talented and creative international artists—"Sardines," named after the place where we all met for the first time.

At the heart of our artist collective lies a deep shared love for creating images, capturing the world through photography, documenting genuine moments and expression, capturing nature and our bodies, fostering relationships through the trust of being seen and showing vulnerability, and using the photographic medium to heal and process emotions about things that we try to understand about ourselves and the world.

The effort is to create a space where we can all be together, be safe, the world coming to a halt and where nothing else matters. Inspired by each other's art, our goal is to create and flourish in the the environment where we deeply and genuinely care for each other, both as artists and friends.