Arjan Spannenburg

My photography is a search for the silence before the storm. I am fascinated by the tension between who we are and who we show to the world, the masks we wear to survive and the vulnerability that exists when those masks slip.

My visual language is foundational black and white. I instinctively strip away color to eliminate distraction, focusing entirely on texture, light, and the sculptural landscape of the human body. However, I am not bound by monochrome. When a project engages in a dialogue with classical painting, I allow color to enter, not as decoration, but as a narrative necessity. Whether through the starkness of graphite tones or a curated painterly palette, my work remains rooted in the classical tradition, referencing the dramatic lighting of Caravaggio or the stoicism of Saint Sebastian, while firmly planted in the contemporary queer experience.

I portray young men in the 'in-between' phases of life. These are not documentary portraits; they are staged moments of introspection. Whether exploring the isolation of the 'unfortunate generation' in my series COMPELLED or the intimate fragility of ESTRANGED, my goal is to make the invisible struggles of identity visible. I want the viewer to look past the physical form and encounter the emotional silence that resonates within us all.