ABOUT

Dirk H. Wilms (born 1966) is a German photographer and visual artist whose work consists exclusively of photographic self-portraits. He explores themes of mortality, sexuality and identity, isolation, rejection and stigmatization. He first came to public recognition with his series A Kind Of Absence that is concerned with his identity as a gay man living with HIV and AIDS.

Wilms reflects on his own life events and processes that have taken place, making his work deeply personal. He depicts himself often as nude figure in his images, recasting the male nude as something insecure and vulnerable rather than as a figure of strength. Never willing to compromise his artistic vision, he follows his own process of development, enters into it deeply, and represents it in photographs. Implicit in his art practice is the idea that an artist's personal investment and deprivation is a necessary condition of art. “My work is a never ending search for identity and meaning. A sort of psychoanalytic therapy in some way,” he has said. “My images have a certain simplicity, but inside are auto-biographical stories that I reveal deliberately with a raw openness. Living the truth in this way is important to me.”

His photographs have been featured in prestigious art, culture and gay magazines and can be found in a variety of private collections.