2020-MMXX by Max Pinckers

Inspired by a heightened experience of time and space with a society in limbo during the pandemic, the scenes in 2020-MMXX depict moments of boredom, introspection and delicate human interaction.

Multiple-angle photography is used as a tool to accentuate the sense of elongated time and deconstruct the illusion of space in pictures. Through subtle gestures, the images reveal that they are photographed at precisely the same instant by multiple analog cameras operated simultaneously.

A single moment in time perceived from different perspectives calls into question the myth of the “decisive moment” and the credibility of a singular, authoritative way of seeing. These meta-images refer to their own processes of perception and relationship to their observers.

Dancing around the fragility of a moment suspended in time, every point of view is unique, revealing something its counterpart cannot, reminding us that there is always something the photograph hides—that there are other angles to every story and different stories to every angle.

About the Artist

Max Pinckers (b. 1988, Brussels) grew up in Indonesia, India, Australia, and Singapore before returning to Brussels, where he now lives and works. He holds a Doctorate in the Arts and is a guest lecturer at the School of Arts (KASK), Ghent. His work challenges the conventions of documentary photography, exploring theatricality, performativity, and collaboration through cinematic lighting and staging. He is co-founder of Lyre Press and the School of Speculative Documentary, and is represented by Gallery Sofie Van de Velde (Antwerp) and Tristan Lund (London). Awards include the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (2018) and the Edward Steichen Award (2015).