Book Club #79: Florian Hetz – AIKO

After “zwei”, Berlin photographer Florian Hetz presents another spectacular photobook together with Paper Affairs Publishers. “AIKO” is a visual diary which, being far more personal than his previously published books, raises his art to a new level.www.paperaffairs.comwww.instagram.com/paper_affairswww.instagram.com/florian.hetzwww.instagram.com/fxhetzwww.florianhetz.com

Touching insights into Florian Hetz’s innermost thoughts and feelings are translated into a particularly fascinating imagery. His keen eye for the unusual, which this time takes on completely new perspectives, as well as his very own, unique gaze on the male body are captivating. Florian Hetz invites the viewer to partake in what has perhaps been the most emotional year of his life.

This photographic journey through time begins with the short essay “Liminal Experiences” by German author and journalist Daniel Schreiber:

“There are phases of life that make it hard to say what day, week, even month it is at any given moment—phases that feel like a life packed in wadding, that feel as though you were surrounded by a dense fog that parts only at certain moments, and only then can you see what is going on around you. (…) AIKO can be read as a document of just such a phase of life, as a testament to how a phase like that feels. It is a document that—with a peculiar, haunting tenderness—lifts the protective veil to afford a glimpse of the inner life such phases entail.”

More than in his previous publications, Hetz contextualizes his nudes and embeds them in impressions of his everyday life. Male bodies in almost sculptural poses meet wilting tulip blossoms, flayed citrus fruits and shots of empty streets in Berlin, Vienna, Oslo, Bavaria or Montreal.

“AIKO” seems in some ways like a guide to think about things you haven’t wanted to or been able to think about for a long time. “Its images enable a kind of meditative reflection. At the same time, and as they also clearly indicate, these phases turn our affective household upside down. How can we deal with these liminal phases of life? The answer, Florian Hetz’s book shows, is as tender as it is harrowing…” (Daniel Schreiber in “Liminal Experiences”)

Now available for preorder at www.paperaffairs.com

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