Hans Wilschut

The urban landscape in my photographic work is alternately defined by stillness, abstraction, reflection and movement. I am driven by themes such as globalization, migration, tourism, representation, urbanization and global economy.

For a long time I avoided making series of photographs, I preferred to tell a story in stand-alone photoworks. With the growth of my body of work, I increasingly position my work in project form. Sometimes archives are created over a longer period of time, which can result in series or books.

If I could put a general label on my work, I would call it ‘archeologie avant la lettre’. What I’m doing is a kind of visual excavating. I capture the fleeting life by seeking a time and especially emphasizing the setting of the great play of life, the actors play a subordinate role in this. My biggest challenge is to make images in such a way they function as key moments of the time in which I live.

In addition to color and detail, perspective is an important tool for my photographic work. All optical means I need to bend this to my liking are used and to realize my views I navigate in metropolises through the world of high-rise buildings and often open up the inaccessible. In addition, I often use aerial platforms or even airplanes. This gives me complete freedom to arrange the composition the way I want.