Max Pinckers (Belgium, 1988) grew up in Indonesia, India, Australia and Singapore. In 2008 he returned to his country of birth to study documentary photography at the KASK in Ghent, where he is currently doing his doctoral research. Since 2011 he has made several documentary series that consistently found their ultimate display in a carefully crafted book that brings together text, photographs and documents. In his work he always explores a distinct idea, such as the position of the photographer in a documentary story (Lotus, 2011), the way in which fiction impacts reality (The Fourth Wall, 2012) and the buildup of a visual narrative. (Will They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty, 2014)
Because Pinckers does not believe in the ability to be objective or neutral, he opts for a fundamentally subjective approach which he visualizes through the outspoken use of theatrical lighting, stage settings and extras. He combines extensive research and meticulous technical preparation with on the spot improvisation to create lively, unexpected and critical, but at the same time, poetic and documentary images.
Sam Weerdsmeester (Netherlands, 1984) studied at the art academies of both Groningen and Ghent. Even though he started as a painter, through the course of his studies he began to focus more and more on photography. Usually the works result in photobooks, but at other times in a spatial exhibition. Weerdmeester does not believe in the truthfulness of photography, or the idealistic strength which is often attributed to the medium. His work is usually based on ideas, or logic that exists separately from the direct action with the subject.
Image: Controversy photo wall, Espejo, Spain