Wilhelm Makkink
Artist statement
Photography is a journey, allowing me to limitless approaches to an emotion so deep that words fail. Holding a camera in my hand empowers me with the tool, the eloquence to not only depict those feelings, but invite the viewer along. I make art. I have an overwhelming need to express, I can't help it, and I need others to experience my art, to share in it, and to experience it.
Whether shooting with film or through digital art, the focus is always to capture deeper emotional experiences in such a simple way that it touches the most basic part of our beings. There is a strong conceptual base to how I approach any themes.
Traditional rules of photography gets pushed to the background and become irrelevant in my pursuit to capture beauty in even the most sombre themes. I aim at showing emotions, not in technical perfection, but through photos that have an immediate and lasting impact.
Whether shooting with film or through digital art, the focus is always to capture deeper emotional experiences in such a simple way that it touches the most basic part of our beings. There is a strong conceptual base to how I approach any themes.
Traditional rules of photography gets pushed to the background and become irrelevant in my pursuit to capture beauty in even the most sombre themes. I aim at showing emotions, not in technical perfection, but through photos that have an immediate and lasting impact.
Biography
Born in Pretoria in 1981, Wilhelm embraced the privilege of growing up in a diversity of cultures. After graduating high school in Queenstown, he studied Philosophy at the University of the Freestate from 2001-2003. Hungry for a wider experience of life, he moved to Scotland in 2004. It was here the photography crossed his path and the discovery of this expressive art form changed his life.
Soon after he started investing time and energy in his new passion, he moved to England in 2005. Each move, each new city, each new person affected him deeply and enriched his perception of life. In 2005 he got married and his first child was born in 2007, both experiences that resulted in his photos taking on deeper meaning.
Never satisfied with the ordinary, Wilhelm and his family moved to Poland and settled in a quaint town 100 km from the capital. His second child was born in 2011, adding to the wealth of love and personal growth in his life. When Wilhelm is not finding new ways to depict heartfelt emotions through the view finder of his numerous cameras, he's teaching English. Completely self-taught, Wilhelm's photography shows the beauty of emotions with photos bound to touch one deeply.
Soon after he started investing time and energy in his new passion, he moved to England in 2005. Each move, each new city, each new person affected him deeply and enriched his perception of life. In 2005 he got married and his first child was born in 2007, both experiences that resulted in his photos taking on deeper meaning.
Never satisfied with the ordinary, Wilhelm and his family moved to Poland and settled in a quaint town 100 km from the capital. His second child was born in 2011, adding to the wealth of love and personal growth in his life. When Wilhelm is not finding new ways to depict heartfelt emotions through the view finder of his numerous cameras, he's teaching English. Completely self-taught, Wilhelm's photography shows the beauty of emotions with photos bound to touch one deeply.
Selected exhibitions
- 2022 — Midnight at The Lost and Found, JVH Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa
- 2021 — Blue sky, Cafe Royal, Kutno
- 2021 — Przemijanie (In Passing), Kutno
- 2019 — Wieloformy. Testament, Kutno Dom Kultura
- 2018 — Artbox Projects New York 1.0, New York
- 2014 — W ogrodzie (In the Garden), Akademia Pomorska w Slupsku
- 2014 — Trent Gallery - Last meal, Pretoria, South Africa
- 2014 — Art Lovers 1932 - THE TRUTH OF VALENTINE, Pretoria, South Africa
- 2014 — Art of Silver, Cullinan, South Africa
- 2013 — Basement series, KDK (kutno Dom Kultury), Kutno, Poland
- 2012 — Swieta Rozy (Rose festival), KDK(kutno Dom Kultury), Kutno, Poland
- 2012 — Art Lovers 1932 - Male Erotica Exhibition - in association with bone wear, Pretoria, South Africa