Machiel botman biography definition

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Words: Dean Brierly

Minor White once said, “All photographs are self-portraits.” When one considers the medium from a fine art rather than utilitarian perspective, it’s hard to argue against this assertion.

Despite its mechanical nature, photography not only reveals what’s in front of the camera, it inescapably alludes to the personalities of those behind it. At one extreme are photographers who make self-reflective imagery in a calculated and direct manner, using themselves as subject (Francesca Woodman is a famous example).

In contrast are photographers who reveal themselves more obliquely (as White did), through choice of subject matter, visual style and use of symbolism.

Prominent among the latter category is Dutch photographer Machiel Botman, whose entire body of work, begun in the late 1970s, can be seen as an uninterrupted visual diary of self-exploration.

Yet he’s no soul-baring exhibitionist; Botman is akin to