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Interview, Vision Magazine, Beijing, China, 2006

> Could you describe your recent work?

My work is based on photographs that I take all over the city. They are seemingly everyday situations -billboard ads, construction fences, shrubbery, graffiti and the like. I then manipulate the images in the computer. I eliminate the photographic grain by using a digital brushstroke. This makes it difficult to categorize the images as it unsettles perception.

> Which city do you live in? What are your likes and dislikes about it?

I live in Berlin. It's my favorite place in the world right now. The city is large but spread out, so it never feels crowded. At the same time there is a lot going on. The cultural scene may be the most vital in Europe right now. Artists from all over the world come to live here. Space is abundant, apartments are large and rents are cheap.
On the downside the wheather can be quite unpredictable which is a problem especially in the summer.

> How did you step into photography?

I studied in New York. I took a photography class my first semester and I was hooked right away. We were doing classical black and white photography. The class was taught by Roy DeCarava, who is a well-known photographer in the U.S. A few years ago he even had an exhibition at New York's MoMA. He taught me what was important and so I was on my way.

> Do you think that the debate round virtuality vs reality is important to you? Why?

Because of the computer, the things that we do everyday become increasingly abstract. This can have the effect that the real starts to feel strange. We seem to live in a time of change and dissolution. I like to look at the ramifications and to explore the feelings associated with it.

> Besides the debate, what do you want to tell through your pictures?

In my work I have been paying a lot of attention to nature in the city. It's a collision of sorts that I'm interested in. We try to give nature a particular space, while nature has its own rules and grows in the most unexpected places. It's really a tragicomedy, an endless measuring of forces.

> Besides photography, what do you like to do?

I like to start off my day by taking a long walk. There is a large public park in my neighborhood, it even has a couple of hills, and this is where I usually go. It's very meditative and it sets the tone for the day. In my spare time I also like to read and travel. I enjoy the movies and inviting friends over for dinner.