About

中文

Martin Paetsch is a German visual artist based in Hong Kong. He studied photography at the University of the Arts in Bremen, Northern Germany, where his work was featured in solo and group exhibitions. During his studies, a book project inspired him to take up writing and upon graduation, he worked as a journalist for prestigious German magazines such as DER SPIEGEL and GEO.

In 2015, a personal crisis led him to focus on creating images. Unable to leave his apartment due to an anxiety disorder, he started taking pictures through his window on the 28th floor, capturing distant human silhouettes in an attempt to put his situation into perspective. Until now, the evocative power of the human figure remains one of his central themes.

Much of his current work is based on photographic images but rejects conventional ideas of realistic representation. As a starting point, he often uses low-resolution details taken either from his own photos or from highly compressed images found on the internet. He then processes these fragments digitally in order to reveal archetypal shapes and emotions.