What I find fascinating about photography…

…is being able to see and let others see the extraordinary within the ordinary.

Since the first square pictures I took in the 1980s with my Instamatic 100 it still gives me pause and great joy as an artist when I managed to capture what I perceived as special and beautiful in a person or an object.

What has changed is that nowadays, I aim to introduce that specific element of pause I feel myself into my images. By carefully controlling the context in which I set my subjects, my work focuses on the recontextualisation of people and objects through decontextualisation. The everyday objects, humans and work situations that are presented in such a way allow for a change in perception: something or someone that might be taken for granted and primarily seen as a means to an end gains a certain amount of agency in becoming the center of attention for and in itself – and, ultimately, it might also raise questions about the mode of consumerism and perception prevalent in our society.

Contact me

Jan Söhlke / Keilstr. 3 / 57072 Siegen / hi@jansoehlke.com / +49 179 4244284

Photographic Works

Projects

Some Background

After spending a decade in Newcastle upon Tyne and Vienna I now live with my wife and two daughters in Siegen. My background is in cultural studies and I hold a PhD in literature from Munich University.

I go mountain biking when it doesn’t rain. I also go mountain biking when it rains. Usually, it does rain. When there is a mountain nearby, I climb it. If not, I boulder and practice martial arts. All that of course only works when we are not ruined by household chores…