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In Prototypes the viewer is guided sonically and visually through various dream- and land-scapes, observing psychoanalytic references to both shamanistic pasts and speculative futures that evoke alternate modes of existence. We meet the protagonists who interact with undefined technologies and it appears ambiguous as to whether they are rendering themselves in a virtual world, a potential future, or creating their present. In fact, throughout Prototypes there is little to distinguish between “the symbolic, the imaginary, and the real”. Psychoanalytic sessions emphasise a transgression of boundaries. The viewer becomes increasingly disoriented between the physical and dream worlds, where the psyche presents symbols as metaphors for psychological obstacles to overcome. Working with a cast of almost entirely non-professional actors in a collaborative process was integral to the work. Several of whom attended a dream workshop and shared their own dreams, which were then, too, woven into the script. In an exquisite corpse of unconscious connection, one protagonist’s dream depicts a tongue, abstracted and contrasted against the director’s own dream of tentacles growing from a stomach. One of the protagonists, Pol, professes that the experience of taking testosterone feels like being in a science fiction movie. Through an experiential understanding of the pliant body made available through bio-hacking, the protagonists begin to sense a form of liberation, a way to indirectly denounce systems of control. They experience an expanded potentiality to create for themselves new meanings and languages, new architectures. Pol’s analogy concretes what is alluded to throughout the film, that this depicted version of reality is one formerly unimaginable, consequently allowing us to further speculate on an abundance of potential futurities. A gay cruising scene suggests that the result of Pol’s bio-hacking allows him access into this formerly unimaginable reality.

Doireann O’Malley, born Limerick, Ireland 1981. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Prototypes was the winner of The Berlin Art Prize 2018 and has been exhibited in The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Edith Russ Haus für Medienkunst, Oldenburg and has been screened in Bobs Pogo Bar, KW, Berlin. Doireann is currently participating on The Berlin Program for Artists and has upcoming shows in Mexico City and the Göteborg Biennial.

The work is a parable on Alan Turing’s technological disembodiment, drawing on concepts from Terrence McKenna’s Hyperspace, an undoing of the matter of consciousness and technologies empty promises of liberation and progress. Imagining a future self calls for a dreaming of the kind Terence McKenna evokes in his essay New Maps of Hyperspace (1989) and from which this work formed the research. For McKenna the dream is “zero time” and “outside of history.” It is analogous to the speculative experience of hyperspace, a scifi term given to the space-time continuum in which it is possible to travel faster than light. In both states, time appears to stand still (Einstein’s theory of relativity tells us that the closer an object travels to the speed of light the slower time becomes). Dreaming can quickly turn to nightmare however, and the episodic repetition of history-as-nightmare can, at times, feel like farcical simulation. Finally this work touches on the yawning gaps between our wish for escape, human connection and approval — and our seemingly Sisyphean task of achieving any of it. Hyperspace is a notion from science fiction of a superluminal method of travel. It is typically described as an alternative “sub-region” of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or otherdevice. In most fiction, hyperspace is described as a physical place that can be entered and exited. Whereas in the VR work the viewer is essentially trapped in blue screen of death, unable to escape. (Text by Thomas Butler)

Doireann O’Malley (born 1981 in Limerick, IE) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Berlin. Their research-led practice unites collaborative methodologies, healing and reparative movement, writing, and theory, with a strong technological emphasis on new media, virtual Reality, 3Dand film installation. O’Malley holds an MFA from University of Ulster in Belfast, UK. From 2021- 2022 held the position of Professor of Gender & Space at Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien. They were a research fellow at the Berliner Förderprogramm Künstlerische Forschung (2020-2021) and a participant of the BPA// Berlin programme for artists (2019-2020). They acted as a guest mentor on the The Live Arts MA / AdBK Nuremberg (2001) Their exhibitions, talks and screenings have been presented at IMMA, Dublin, IE; Art Institute, Basel, CH; Biennale Zielona Góra, PL; Goethe-Institut Montreal, CA; Goethe-Institut, NY, USA; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), Berlin, DE; National Sculpture Factory/Cork Film Festival, Cork, IE; GöteborgInternational Biennial for Contemporary Art, SE; Rencontres Internationales, Forum des Archives, Paris, FR & HKW, Berlin, DE; Mumok Kino, Vienna, AT; Dublin City Gallery, Dublin, IE; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, DE; Berlin Art Prize, 2018, Berlin, DE; Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst, Oldenburg, DE.

SIGHT/SEEING explore notre relation avec les notions d?étendue sauvage dans une ère mondialisée. A mi-chemin ente le court-métrage touristique et le documentaire sur la vie sauvage, ce travail étudie la relation que nous avons avec notre environnement naturel fondé sur des idées reçues véhiculées par les media. Le tourisme a déclanché un processus qui fait du monde naturel un simple produit, l?exemple typique étant le safari qui permet de vivre quelque chose de spectaculaire, immortalisé par l?objectif d?un caméscope. La vidéo étudie un phénomène dans lequel le spectacle nous fait passer à côté de la véritable expérience et où voir devient moins important qu?enregistrer. Des défauts photographiques de plus en plus absurde et la présence du touriste, caché derrière son objectif, nous conduisent vers un monde où le regard romantique du touriste devient concret grâce à l?image enregistrée ; un monde vu à travers un filtre qui ne peut être enlevé.

Chris Oakley est un artiste qui travaille avec l?imagerie vidéo et numérique, ses préoccupations se concentrent sur l?expérience biaisée par les media, que ce soit les principaux media, la photographie amateur, les communications de masse et la réalité accrue. A travers une analogie critique des méthodes employées par les principaux media, il utilise des processus de fictionalisation des matériaux qu?il a récolté au quotidien afin d?essayer de définir un espace entre la réalité et la représentation ; essayer de définir à quel moment l?expérience vécue si intensément doit se conformer à un récit purement linéaire. Durant ces trois dernières années, le travail d?Oakley a suscité l?intérêt des media européens mais pas seulement. Ces ?uvres ont été exposées aux côtés de celles de Tony Oursler, Jozef Robakowski, et Pipilotti Rist. Parmi ses récentes réussites, on peut compter des sélections pour de nombreux festivals d?arts médiatiques majeurs et des expositions. On peut citer entre autres la Transmediale 05 de Berlin, une exposition au musée d?art contemporain de Los Angeles et des panneaux publicitaires via video sur Sunset Strip. Il a également remporté un prix au Media Forum du Festival International du Film de Moscou en 2005. Il est le premier artiste vidéo à vendre ses ?uvres sur internet grâce au téléchargement. http://www.chrisoakley.com

Le Catalogue explore les nomenclatures de l'humanité élaborées par les sociétés commerciales dans l'environnement de la consommation. En tant que consommateurs, nos modes de vie sont minutieusement analysés par les grands groupes. La carte de fidélité, la puce RFID (Identification par Fréquence Radio) et les logiciels de reconnaissance faciale sont autant de moyens de collecte de données qui leur permettent de réaliser le traçage des individus en temps réel. Les sociétés spécialisées dans le négoce de bases de données peuvent montrer où nous nous trouvons, ce que nous achetons, ce que seront nos volontés futures. Techniquement, elles pourraient déjà élargir ces données au delà de la sphère des habitudes de consommation et de nos modes de vie pour atteindre celles concernant notre intégrité physique, en prédisant notre santé future par le croisement de statistiques et ce grâce à l'analyse des données tirées de nos courses hebdomadaires. Le Catalogue propose une analogie à ce processus, contraignant le spectateur à prendre la position d'une agence, froide et distante, et en considérant l'humanité comme une série d'entités dont la valeur de chacune est définie par sa capacité à dépenser et par ses besoins futurs.

Les centres d'intérêt de Chris Oakley concernent aussi bien les média de masse que la photographie amateur, les moyens de communication de masse, le recueil de données, et l'influence de ces phénomènes hétérogènes sur nos comportements, les interactions, et les relations qui en découlent sur notre corps. Pour Oakley, la caméra amateur, la caméra de surveillance, et le reportage télévisé sont regardés comme procédant d'un même phénomène ; chacun fournit un point de vue représentant un univers médiatisé, une réalité limitée, coupée de toute véracité. Dans une comparaison critique des procédés employés par les mass-média, il est fasciné par les processus de fictionnalisation, essayant de définir l'espace entre réalité et représentation, le point à partir duquel le caractère aléatoire de l'expérience humaine est standardisé pour se conformer à un cliché narratif. Influencé à ses tout débuts par le Process Art, et par les cinéastes matérialistes et structuralistes, il a développé un vocabulaire combinant une approche orientée "processus" avec des références culturelles plus larges. S'appropriant des techniques de plateau de télévision et de production de film et les combinant avec le point de vue du cinéma Vérité, le processus s'intéresse autant à observer le spectateur que le sujet. Depuis deux ans, le travail de Oakley recoit une attention de plus en plus importante de la part des media en Europe, voire au delà. Ses créations ont été exposées au côté de celle de Tony Oursler, Jozef Robakowski, Kutlug Ataman et de Pipilotti Rist. De ses récentes réalisations, on mentionnera la circulation d'une exposition dans un grand nombre de festival internationaux d'arts multimedia notamment au festival Exit à Paris, au Transmediale .05 à Berlin, l'exposition de ses travaux au Musée d'Art comtemporain de Los Angeles, des projections video au Sunset Strip, ainsi qu'un prix au Festival international du Film de Moscou en 2005. Biographie sommaire : 1971 Naissance à Chester 1988 - 1990 North East Wales Institute 1990-93 School of Art & Design, University of Wolverhampton 1993-95 Kent Institute of Art & Design

"The Dawn Chorus" is an outbreak of birdsong at the start of a new day, depicted in the film as the inspiration for a dream-like gathering of the artists local queer community in Zagreb. This joyous celebration of queer bodies pays homage to the kingdom of birds through voguing, dancing, drag and costumes. It is a transposition that imagines the potential in the intersection between our own identities and the inclusive spaces that are open for other species. Filmed without the predictable popular electronic beats typically associated with ballroom, the film solely features the sounds of bodies in motion, the rhythmic impact of dancing, resounding percussive noises created by bodies, and chanting. These elements are accompanied by polyphonic sounds of birdsong onomatopoeias, sourced from ornithological manuals and sung by ”Le Zbor” a lesbian-antifascist choir from Zagreb accompanied by subtle gravity-like pedal tones played on Organ.

Damir Ocko (b. 1977, Zagreb) Graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, O?ko has exhibited on solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Krems, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Jeu de Paume, Paris, National Gallery in Prague, Museum of contemporary Art Bordeaux, Museo Amparo, Mexico, DAZIBAO, Montreal, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Yvon Lambert Gallery in Paris, Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst und Medien in Graz, Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios in Dublin, Kunstverein Leipzig among other places. He participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally with institutions such as, OFF Biennale Budapest, MUDAM in Luxembourg, FRAC le Plateau, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Kunsthalle Vienna, Louis Vuitton foundation among others. Damir O?ko represented Croatia in the 56th Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition "Studies on Shivering / The Third Degree. His works are included in many public and private collections such as FRAC le Plateau, Foundation Louis Vuitton, CNAP – Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris, MUDAM in Luxembourg and Museum of contemporary Art in Zagreb, among others.

"Un grand rêve allait être réalisé mais quelque chose se passa pendant le réveil." Pendant la période de transition, la Croatie abandonna un des plus gros projets qui allai être construit sur cet hémisphère, un hôpital universitaire qui allait occuper 250000m2. L'hôpital a été planifié dans la fin des années 70 et était en construction dans les années 80 mais jamais fini. De nos jours, ce hall vide, ces murs de béton, ce labyrinthe de pièces sans noms et la nature envahissant tout l'environnement peut lui donner l'allure d'une quelconque construction mais, le fait de savoir ce que cet endroit devrait être, transforme cette réalité en une expérience presque mélodramatique; être bloqué dans un lieu et à une époque, quelque part entre ce que c'était, ce que ça devrait être et ce que c'est. Une vision romantique de la transition nous amène à l'intérieur de l'architecture fantôme et nous participons au voyage a travers une intrigue Wagnérienne, où la fiction rentre dans la réalité, transformé et perdue dans un lieu où le héros arrive trop tard. Extrait des synopsis de Wagner, l'intrigue devient un jeu rêveur et hallucinogène auquel les personnages jouent pour décrire leur nouveau déplacement social et émotionnel vers un lieu qui existe quelque part entre l'espoir et l'oubli. Mais pourtant, il se dit que la corne magique a un tel effet que celui qui l'entend va croire presque tout.

Damir Očko was born in 1977 in Zagreb, Croatia and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb. He was a resident artist at Tirana Institute of contemporary art, Tirana, Albania and Kulturkontakt Vienna, Austria. He also received a Academie schloss solitude fellowship. He is working in diverse medias, like video, installation, site specific projects and music. His recent solo exhibitions include: Why does Gravity make things fall?, Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art, Tirana, Albania, The Missing Mountain, Barutana, Osijek, Croatia, Compositions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia. Recent group exhibitions include: The post Cinema experience, Australian centre for photography, Sydney, Australia, New revelations, Spectrum project space, Perth, Australia, Heroes in Transition, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham, UK, and 2WP at Art Point Gallery Vienna, among others. His films where recently screened at Chavoul cinema, Sydney, Australia, 52nd Venice Biennale as part of a video program selected by Edi Muka on the PS1&PAN boat and International center for culture Arbnori, Tirana, Albania among others. Currently he is living and working in Zagreb.

The Third Degree is a single scene film exploring a close-ups of skin scars resulting from third degree burns filmed through an installation of broken mirrors reflecting the crew and the whole background process while filming the scars, thus integrating the subject of the camera with the process of filming itself. The Third Degree was made as a response to questions that emerged due the particularly violent way the previous film TK was filmed. The term "Third Degree" has an ambiguous meaning in the English language: it is a way to classify a burn of a very strong degree, but it can also signify a process of extorting a confession under violence. Set in motion by such violent interpretations and perspectives, film tries to critically, yet poetically, cut through the collective haze that blurs relations between means of production, control and the subject itself, giving rise to alternative methods of understanding as a reflection determined at the same time by social, political and aesthetic parameters.

Damir Očko was born in 1977 in Zagreb, where he lives and works. A graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Očko has exhibited on solo exhibitions at DAZIBAO, Montreal, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst und Medien in Graz and Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios in Dublin among other places. He participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally with institutions such as, MUDAM in Luxembourg, FRAC le Plateau, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany, Kunsthalle Vienna, among others. His works can be found in the collections of Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation and CNAP – Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris or at the MUDAM in Luxembourg. Damir Očko was representing Croatia in the 56th Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition "Studies on Shivering / The Third Degree.

Departing form an eight part poem the artist constructs a complex polyphonic work in which poetry meets movements, sounds, silences, bodies, and ¬endurability in order to project the ideas behind the work. Several topics constantly reoccurring through out the work are brought forward by a meticulously scored narration, in which pause and silence are equally important as the spoken or written word. Poem itself depicts on various images, starting as a morning song in which a question of a routine and a rotation turns the engine on for work to move towards more difficult imagery. People gather in dangerous constellations to act in violence, to observe silently, or to setup the false feeling of tranquillity which is constantly turned upside down by the various mechanisms of the film itself. Heavy things get stuck in the throat, stones used as tools and voices come to unrest.

Damir Očko (b. 1977, lives and works in Zagreb) is one of the most prominent Croatian artist of his generation. His videos, films, poetry and works on paper have been exhibited recently in Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin (2014), KM - Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst & Medien in Graz (2014), Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris (2013), Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2012), Galleria Tiziana Di Caro in Salerno (2012), and Kunsthalle Dusseldorf (2011). He participated in numerous collective exhibitions with institutions such as MUDAM, Luxembourg, FRAC Le Plateau in Paris, Kunsthalle Wien, and Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb among others. His works are part of many public and private collections around the world.

La vidéo se concentre sur les chemins parcourus dans la ville. Les chemins que chaque habitant doit effectuer, pour lui-même et seul parmi les autres. Dans la réalité quotidienne, cela constitue un "déplacement de masse" dense et permanent, pour que chacun puisse s'assurer un logement et un travail. On peut voir un jeune homme qui marche très lentement. Il prend neuf visages différents, et son cheminement s'étend sur toute une enfilade de rues et de quartiers du Caire. Tout autour de lui, du bruit et beaucoup d'autres gens. Puis il se retrouve soudain seul, mais continue, sans y prêter attention, à marcher lentement. Quelques personnages isolés qui croisent son chemin.

Né en 1962, vit à Bâle et à Paris. Etudes: HGK (Ecole supérieure d'art et création) de Zurich, design graphique télévision suisse, design scénique HGK Bâle, design audiovisuel.

Outside of Luxor the eye moves in a slow circle. People are standing in the desert, alone or in groups. Tourists descend from the sky in a large red balloon. The camera?s perspective corresponds to the gaze of a foreigner having a look around. A couple of details sail past, without for all that rendering the situation as a whole perceptible. The eye wanders on across the surface of the desert. Urban settlements come into view. An arrival is summed up in one long, slow pan, a touchdown on a strange planet, recounted from a horizontal perspective only gradually closing the gap between itself and its object.

* Winterthur/Switzerland, lives and works in Basel/Switzerland and Brussels/Belgium education: HGK Zürich, Graphic design; Swiss Television Zürich, stage design; HGK Basel, audiovisual design. Author of videos, video installations, documentary videos.

De nuit, un salon à l?ameublement précisément choisi. Aucune trace des habitants. Un jeune homme nu traverse l'espace. Il se couche sur un sofa, dépose un plat sur la table. Il agit comme un étranger qui se serait introduit dans la maison. Les meubles tremblent, apparaissent, disparaissent comme déplacés par une main invisible. Le rapport à l'intimité et à la proximité du corps de l'homme changent brusquement lorsque l'extérieur devient visible. Nous sommes face à une vitrine de magasin.

*Winterthur/Suisse, vit et travaille à Bâle et à Paris. Formation: HGK Zurich, Arts graphiques, Télévision Suisse, Scénographe, HGK Bâle, Arts audiovisuels

The camera is invading an over-stuffed apartment, floating through an almost surreal material world. There is a presence of the real tenant, supposedly an old man, who we don?t get to see. Instead, a younger man in search of a place to rest is wandering about. The rooms reveal the standstill of a lonley person, who has separated himself from life and the outside world by pileing up consumer objects. A glance out of the window shows a formerly fancy boulevard in Brussels, ruled today by Moroccan traders and African immigrants.

1962* Winterthur/Switzerland, lives and works in Basel/Switzerland and Brussels/Belgium HGK Zürich, Graphic design; Swiss Television Zürich, stage design; HGK Basel, audiovisual design. videotapes, video installations, documentary videos. Works 1995-97 on cruise-ships around the world, lives 1998-2000 in Montréal/Canada and 2002-07 in Paris, then moves to Brussels. 2000-02 lecturer for video Fachhochschule Vorarlberg/Austria. From 2004 guest lecturer HGK Lucerne/CH.

1962* Winterthur/Switzerland, lives and works in Basel/Switzerland and Brussels/Belgium. HGK Zürich, Graphic design; Swiss Television Zürich, stage design; HGK Basel, audiovisual design. videotapes, video installations, documentary videos. Works 1995-97 on cruise-ships around the world, lives 1998-2000 in Montréal/Canada and 2002-07 in Paris, then moves to Brussels. 2000-02 lecturer for video Fachhochschule Vorarlberg/Austria. 2004/06/11 guest lecturer HGK Lucerne/CH.

Le film traite de l‘utilisation de nos corps dans un environnement parfaitement structuré et construit. Le film se penche sur une société hautement organisée et explore les questions de l'expérience corporelle active par rapport à l'état statique de l‘expérience virtuelle. A quelle distance de la nature l‘homme peut-il vivre?

1962* Winterthur/Switzerland, lives and works in Basel/Switzerland. education ZHdK Zürich, Graphic design; Swiss Television Zürich, stage design; FHNW Basel, audiovisual design. from 1995: videotapes, video installations, documentary videos, video for dance and theater. Works 1995-97 on cruise-ships around the world, lives 1998-2000 in Montréal/Canada and 2002-07 in Paris, 2008-16 in Brussels. 2000-02 lecturer for video Fachhochschule Vorarlberg/Austria. from 2004 guest lecturer HSLU Lucerne/Switzerland.

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Dietmar Offenhuber, born 1973, graduated in Architecture and has been working since 1994 in animation, interactive environments and digital architecture. Between 2002 and 2004 Dietmar worked as key researcher in the Interactive Space departement at the Ars Electronica Futurelab. Since Fall 2004 he is Professor for animation and interactive media at the University of Applied Sciences in Hagenberg / Austria.

En tombant par hasard sur une collection de vidéos maison réalisées par sa mère, datant de 1989 à 1994, Anna Ogden-Smith s?est tout à coup intéressée à la manière dont les archives VHS sont actifs dans processus de filtration de notre mémoire.

Née à Beyrouth (Liban) en 1984, Anna Ogden-Smith a obtenu une licence en design graphique à l'Université américaine de Beyrouth en 2006. Depuis, elle a principalement travaillé en free-lance dans le design imprimé et a poursuivi sa vocation de danseuse contemporaine à Londres (Royaume-Uni) et à Beyrouth. Récemment, elle a commencé à explorer différents médiums, en réalisant deux autofictions, « Le mensonge » et « Le Rêve ».

While the shade of a tree is being stolen away, bodiless organs sit in the enormous gaps of the drained earth. Under the constant noise of unseen machines, disjointed body parts touch the drying soil and breaths are only audible to insects. In this quiet, distorted world, old songs of goodwill are sung: “Future times of vain sorrow do not disturb our gentle sleep...” While we are waiting for the miracle to come the sand continues to fly.

SENEM GÖKCE OGULTEKIN work spans the disciplines of choreography, performance, vocal work and film. In 2019, "Dun/Home" was chosen for Artist´s Film International, an international event initiated by Whitechapel Gallery in London and was shown at various museums and galleries of the world. In 2020, Senem Gökce Ogultekin was awarded the Allbau Foundation Culture Prize and was appointed to the Young College by the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2021. LEVENT DURAN is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. They studied sociology at Istanbul University and film at the Fine Arts University of Hamburg, where they obtained their master's degree. Their writings have been published in major magazines and newspapers in Turkey, and their visual creations (video, painting, sculpture, installation) have been exhibited internationally. Their film project "Murmuring Draft Dodgers" received the Courageous Citizen Award from the European Cultural Foundation.

L'artiste a filmé des gens sur la route à New York portant des t-shirts avec des nombres, et les a rassemblés de façon à créer un décompte de 99 à 0. Il s'agit de révéler ou de reconstruire un ordre caché derrière le chaos de la ville.

Yuki Okumura est né à Aomori, au Japon, en 1978. Il vit à Tokyo et crée des installations vidéo. Son oeuvre à été montrée dans son pays et sur le plan international. Il a reçu le grand prix du Philip Morris Art Award en 2000. En 2006, il a obtenu de l'Asian Cultural Council Fellowship la possibilité d'être artiste en résidence à Location One, à New York. Il a participé à d'autres programmes de résidence comme le Taipei Artist Village, à Taipei et l'Irish Museum of Modern Art, à Dublin, en 2007.

Dusk: A mother mourns the death of her husband while her son questions his existence. Dawn: A mother mourns the death of het child, while her husband tries to deal with the death and the misshapen newborn.

Erwin Olaf Born in Hilversum in the Netherlands in 1959, Erwin Olaf lives and works in Amsterdam since the early 80`s. His current studio is situated in a former church hall. Mixing photojournalism with studio photography, Olaf emerged in the international art scene in 1988 when his series `Chessmen` was awarded the first prize in the Young European Photographer competition. This award was followed by an exhibition at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany. Since then Olaf has continued to explore issues of gender, sensuality, humor, despair and grace in each successive series. Printing his early work in documentary style black-and-white, he first gradually introduced color and then digital manipulation. There is great contrast between each series. Mature (1999): golden-hued portraits of elderly women in the poses of kittenish supermodels; Fashion Victims (2000): a lewd commentary on the consumerism of sex and designer labels; Royal Blood (2000): minimalist white-on-white portraits, depicting the vengeful nature of members of the aristocracy who have suffered unsavory deaths; Paradise (2001): picturing a dark and baroque underworld of gleeful clowning and lunacy; Separation (2003) portraying an ice cold and introverted family in a sterile living room. In his four most recent series Rain, Hope, Grief and Fall, Erwin Olaf returns to classic imagery with minimal computer retouching. Video and film offer new possibilities to explore. His first film Tadzio (1991, co-directed with painter F. Franciscus) was soon followed by comic videos for children`s television, short documentaries, music clips and commissions by the Dutch National Ballet. Recently Olaf has created autonomous video works like Separation, Rain and Grief, starring models who also appear in the accompanying photo series. In the films they play a different character, as though his moving images provide a parallel history to his color photographs. These short films have been selected for film festivals all over the world. Over the years many of Olaf`s works - from his unabashed nude portraiture and intense symbolism to the unflinching gaze in his blood-drenched images of staged violence - have provoked controversy. Not surprisingly, this ability to attract attention has seen his work embraced by the advertising world, resulting in commercials for Lavazza, BMW, Microsoft and Nintendo among many others. Lately Erwin is frequently shooting in commission for magazines such as The New York Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Elle and Citizen K. In 1999 his worldwide campaign for Diesel Jeans won him the coveted Silver Lion at the Festival for Advertising in Cannes. He was awarded the same prize two years later for his imagery produced for Heineken. Among numerous other international art and media prizes, in 2006 he was awarded Photographer of the Year in the International Color Awards. In 2007 Kunstbeeld magazine chose him Artist of the Year of the Netherlands. Recently he received a Lucie Award for his entire oeuvre