Erwin Olaf on Beauty and Fall

Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf 1959 is on the threshold of an important year his most recent photographic series Hope Grief and Rain appear to have given him an international breakthrough His work has been criticized since the 1980s as being produced merely for its shock value thus eliminating it as art But now that important art dealers and museums all over the world are showing his works and huge crowds are visiting his expositions it seems as if his years of hard work will finally lead to serious recognition Yet this is occurring of all times in a period of his life in which Erwin Olaf is contending with emphysema a debilitating disease that obliges him to deal cautiously with his energy reserves Whether his body can keep up with his work pace is uncertain