Machiel Botman

Machiel Botman (1955), a key figure in contemporary Dutch photography. He is not limited by photographic conventions, but rather welcomes mistakes and surprises that are combined with the highly personal nature of his subjects. As a darkroom assistant to Philippe Salaün, a well-known black-and-white master printer, Botman learned all the ins and outs of the trade in Paris in the early 1980s. Not having the ambition to always print for others, he returned to the Netherlands after working for Salaün for five years. Here he went to photograph for himself.

Like his individual photographs, Botman’s books and writings are autobiographical and describe the stages in his life, but they do not follow a linear narrative.