BONDED, 2015.

Bonded, 2015.

Photos: Maike Born

Models: Tim Ellinghaus, Alexander Bardou

BODY, 2014.

 

How I learned to accept my body.

most of you might know this problem of looking down onto your body and feeling extremely miserable about how you look like. as for myself I was always struggling about body issues, since I was a kid. I grew up with people saying don't hate your body, you're super thin! yes, I am pretty thin, and that's exactly what caused my problems. all my life I have been underweight and it's kind of impossible to change that aspect of my life.

this modern society has brainwashed us all. we're only getting accepted by this society when we're healthy and thin. as for men, they need to have the perfect body, such as six packs and for women they are only beautiful when they are fully breasted and thin. it's pretty impossible to overcome this feeling of being unworthy, just because you hate your body, or you don't have the ideal of a body.
it took me ages to realize that this is all just a big lie we're living in. we're all different human beings, and we're all individual by our outta appearance and personality.
I say this, because I, myself, hated my body. every time I looked into a mirror I felt disgusted by myself, and I still feel this way sometimes. but on the other hand, throughout all these years, I've started to just accept the way I look, because I can't change the way I look. and the most important thing is, that I don't even want to change it. we shouldn't change because this society and body ideal told us to. you don't commit a crime when you're not in shape, thin of thick, that doesn't even matter anymore. 

 so, if you're unhappy with your body shape, there are just two options you have. try to accept it, or try to change it. I accepted my body and it made me happier. it truly did, because I'm just not worrying about it anymore and I just don't want to change for anybody else, because we live for ourselves and not for other people. if someone goes up to you and say hey you're out of shape, then just fuck them. nobody has to argue about how you look like and it's nobody's business to tell you how you should look like.

I created this series to show how different we all are and how important it is to see that we are all beautiful.
for me, it was the most difficult task ever, to find people modeling for me and to put into words what I was trying to show with these photos. it is also the series I was working on for a long time and that's why I am super grateful to finally share these bits with you guys.
I'm also very glad to have had such wonderful people who were willing to model for me and I want to shout out a huge thank you to all of you! (models remain anonymous). I will also try to keep this series going and find more people to participate!

START OVER AGAIN, 2015.

I hear these words over and over again. let us start over again. and I wished, oh darling I wished it was just so easy. but it isn't. and sometimes it hurts, because you could've laid next to me and we could've watched the clouds passing by. and we were laughing about our own dreams and then maybe we kissed.
the truth is I was laying there alone, all by myself and that is just how life goes by.

ROCK WERCHTER, 2015

I've been at Rock Werchter, a four days festival in belgium, some weeks ago. it was an awesome experience, went there with one of my best friends and we had huge fun during those four days! I'd always share a tent with her ever again.

it was also kind of special for me, because I've seen my one and only favourite band MUSE live for the very first time, and it was like something was missing my whole life and I've just found it during those two hours of live music (yes, they played two hours).
here are some impressions of these days.

Jack Garratt

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Hozier

Mumford & Sons

Fink

John Newman

Muse

glitterrain at Muse

the barn

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 a series about artificial intelligence and its communication to the human race. the intelligence takes over the humanity and there is no turning back to our origin.

I created this series in 2014 and it's one of the most important works for myself, because these four pictures got me into design/art school and I couldn't be happier with what I chose to study.

special thanks to my wonderful models and assistants jonathan, anna and magdalena.

 

TOUCHING LIGHT

met up with Alexander the other day

 and created these two sets about light touching the human body,

skin and the surroundings.

 we had great fun, wandering around, talking and just fooling around

 while taking several photos.

  

DARK SHINES

a photo series based on the theme read and inspired by the Muse song Dark Shines. I used our old slide film projector, created my own slide film with a piece of plastic and a pen and threw this on a few spots in my room.

Dark shines
Bringing me down
Making my heart feel sore
Because it's good