Patrick Hoelck

PHOTOGRAPHER / DIRECTOR 

One only needs to look at Patrick Hoelck’s rendering of himself in order to perceive the artistic element that makes his photographs unique: A bearded male apparition stares at his viewer through his own smoky reflection; his own thin & jagged dark etchings give himself form and emotion; he evokes a photographer’s spectral presence; his face slightly askew, his cigarette dangling, he is frozen by his own rumination—reality is a white void in need of his distinguishable etchings; a personal demarcation of the moment that fills the void with meaning & individuality.

Compare the eyes of the individuals he has photographed to those of his self-portrait. The comparison is remarkably uncanny. It’s as if Patrick always takes a photograph of his own self, his own self-portrait; his lighting and perspectives revealing themselves as skills born from his own struggles to overcome personal weaknesses, transforming the darkness of a former self-abuser into a vision created by an illuminator wanting to see himself for who he is.

Patrick Hoelck’s photography resonates because his darkness does not hide, pervert, destroy, or malign. Instead, it emboldens, signifies, nurtures, resurrects an individual for who they are: sexuality and celebrity status are consequential of being human—of being a man or woman, actor or actress, singer or musician, model or cult personality; glamour and attitude are consequential of one’s pride and self-respect. Patrick effectively disregards the celebrity status and pop culture relevance of his subjects. He photographs individuals for what they allow him to see of himself.