Matthias Herrmann

(b. 1963)
Photography, book, documentation. A Viennese artist, a former ballet dancer; the main themesof his art are the ways of presenting the bodyand relevant stereotypes. In his photographs, usually self-portraits, he blends advertisingstyle-photography with pornographic touches.Unabashed and full of self-irony, he conveysin his works themes of isolation, loneliness and impermanence. An abundance of nudestudies, collected in thick volumes (as is thecase with the Hotel series) removes taboos and demythologises the human body; presented with medical precision, it becomes the subjectof interpretation in the context of issues related to social identity.