Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe 2007 / 2007

Florian Merkel studied photography at the famous Art Academy in Leipzig. However, in recent years, Merkel has started to search for new ways of creating pictures with digital media. He still uses photographs as the starting point and he still brings in his knowledge of color and composition. In his new digital work, Merkel manages to create simple pictures that are multi-levelled and complex at the same time. He transforms body movements or figures in social situations to symbolic patterns. Furthermore, the viewer can sense Merkel’s origins as a photographer in the way that he masters depth of field, the structuring of the surface, and the precise setting of light and colors.