POIKAS (Signed Limited Edition) - SOLD OUT

POIKAS (Boys)

is an analogue photo series I created in my Berlin studio between 2012 and 2017.

It portrays a special type of young men: ‘the boy next door’, whom I met in everyday situations in Berlin. 

POIKAS sheds light on the self-consciousness and vulnerability often hiding beneath the façade of youthful masculinity.

When I moved from London to Berlin in 2010, I was searching for a creative space where I could develop further as an artist. In Neukölln, along the „Mauerweg“ (where the Berlin Wall once stood), I found what I was looking for.

I discovered an old store- front from the fin de siècle era and began renovating it with a group of friends.

On completion I stared at the rough, oil-painted walls and their wonderful Jugendstil decorations. I suddenly saw POIKAS playing in this room.

Each shooting session was left up to coincidence and fantasy. There was no script or rulebook. Each poika brought his own outfits and favourite music.

It was exactly this spontaneity that allowed me to experiment with various lighting sources and (out of date) 35mm analogue film rolls.

Title:
POIKAS

Artist:
Ralf Obergfell

Publisher:
Ralf Obergfell

Release Date:
1 December 2017

Period covered:
2012-2017

Language:
English, German

Format:
Limited Edition Art Photography Book

Print Run:
60 copies, signed and numbered by the artist

Text & Protagonist interviews:
Ralf Obergfell

Art Direction & Design:
Bold Italic

Pages:
112 pp. (4/4 colour)

Illustrations:
93 photographs (analogue)

Measurements:
210 x 148 mm (8.27 × 5.83 inches)

Paper:
135 g/m²  Bilderdruck matt

Hardcover:
Softtouch

Printing process:
Digital

ISBN:
N/A. Artist Book