These images are part of the project ‘The ideal man’, created during an artist-in-residence in Bedburg-Hau (DE). Within this project I wanted to show my search for vulnerability in men. Although I think there is no such thing as the ‘ideal’ man, one must have ideals. But those ideals must always be reflected and placed in their own context. Otherwise we start creating super ideals that make the world hard and unreal. The ideal can only exist if the opposite also exists. There is perfection through the existence of imperfection.

This series was made in 2011, so is part of my earlier work. After my graduation from the Photo Academy, I was inspired by a book I read by Wolfgang Tillmans. In this book, he described his method of creating images, portraits that were as ‘real’ and direct as possible, for example by flashing via the ceiling to avoid artificial shadows. This way, the images appear very soft and nearby.