Ode Erwin Olaf

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The Freedom To Be - 2025
In Erwin’s oeuvre, form went hand in hand with emotion. His images were carefully constructed, technically impeccable, and yet infused with existential depth. He understood that perfection is not a mask, but a way of making human vulnerability, intimacy, and longing visible.

The harmonious light and sculptural bodies in this photograph do not serve an aesthetic purpose alone; they create a tension between control and surrender, between desire and closeness. The colors form the heart of this image. Their soft transitions resonate with the sensitivity with which Erwin captured the human spectrum. They point to the multitude of emotions, identities, and stories he revealed — a choreography of differences in which our humanity becomes visible.

In Erwin’s work, aesthetics were never empty. They formed a moral space — a place where beauty and perfection could confront, move, and heal. This photograph stands in that light: as an homage, but also as a continuation of his artistic legacy. A monument to the freedom he made possible for the artists who followed — the freedom to depict intimacy and diversity without shame, and to encounter the other through beauty.

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Erwin Olaf Magazine
For the Erwin Olaf Magazine, I had the honour of creating an ode to Erwin — a photographer, mentor, and friend who will forever live on through my work.
My deepest thanks to Iebele van der Meulen for making this possible, and to the wonderful models Alexander Álvarez Silvestre and Vincent Fell, who gave this image its soul.
This special one-time edition is available in four different covers featuring Erwin Olaf’s self-portraits and is released to coincide with the major solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Created in collaboration with Studio Erwin Olaf and AndState. You can order the magazine via erwinolafmagazine.com or pick it up at your local bookstore.

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Erwin Olaf: Freedom - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Erwin’s work continues to be celebrated internationally. His major retrospective, Erwin Olaf: Freedom, will be on view at the Stedelijk Museum from October 11, 2025 – March 1, 2026, in collaboration with Studio Erwin Olaf. Supported by Fonds 21 and the VandenEnde Foundation. For more details, please visit the Stedelijk Museum’s website.

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