ABOUT
Dirk H. Wilms (born 1966) is a German photographer and visual artist whose work consists primarily of conceptual staged self-portraits.
Over the past twenty years Wilms has been using photography to record and elaborate auto-biographical stories and personal life events, focusing on his own body as an expressive vehicle. He takes his starting point in desires, anxieties and longings, through which he approaches themes such as mortality, sexuality and identity. Often he depicts himself as a nude figure in his compositions, seeking to recast the male nude as something insecure and vulnerable, rather than as a figure of strength. The resulting images highlight an intimate and melancholic struggle that enables the viewer to connect with his work on a deeply personal level.
“To me photography means to breathe life and to express myself. Photography helps me to make my fears, my depressions and my nightmares visible to those who care to see,” he said. “But all my fears over life and death will be gone. What I hope will remain are these self-portraits, telling my brief story.”
His work has been featured in art, culture, and gay magazines internationally, and can be found in a variety of collections.
EXHIBITION
“What makes Dirk H. Wilms special is that not only does he use his camera to capture portraits that are highly unusual in themselves, but that he uses himself in his creations and thereby embodies his intent messages. He aims to illustrate the modern states of isolation and vulnerability. Even it is not easy to sum up in a few words the essence of his exhibition in Weimar, one can say with certainty that each photograph is like a cathartic moment, a truly intimate look into an artists mind.”
— Susan Mingai
“After his HIV-diagnosis, Dirk H. Wilms hid himself from view for four years. He was afraid, people walking down the street would see his condition written in his face. A walking portrait of a man with HIV. The thought of that kept him indoors. His portrait kept him prisoner. It shackled him to a place of safety. In the end, he broke free. He chose to use the same advice, his portrait, to liberate himself from the stigma he felt and to assure his immortality.”
— Vincent Keith
INTERVIEWS & TEXTS
THE AIDS MEMORIAL
STUART ARMSTRONG IN CONVERSATION WITH DIRK H. WILMS
QUEER NB
MARCEL SPITTEL SPÄTER ERKANNTE ICH ...
MÄNNER MAGAZIN
DENNIS STEPHAN EINE FORM DER ABWESENHEIT
GAY CH MAGAZINE
LUIS PESTANA INTERVIEW WITH DIRK H. WILMS
SALVE TV
EINE ART VON ABWESENHEIT / VIDEO
HIV PLUS MAGAZINE
JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL SEE YOU SEE ME
QUEER.DE
REDAKTION QUEER EINE ART DER ABWESENHEIT
CARSTEN BAUHAUS WIE STILLE SCHREIE
KALTBLUT MAGAZINE
AMANDA M JANSSON THE ART OF DIRK H. WILMS
DIRK H. WILMS A KIND OF ABSENCE
MEIN SCHWULES AUGE
DIRK H. WILMS ICH TRAGE AIDS IN MEINEM GESICHT
SELECTED PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
JAAMZIN, SINGAPORE, 2019
MASCULAR MAGAZINE, UNITED KINGDOM, 2018
ZINE MAGAZINE, JAPAN, 2017
MÄNNER MAGAZINE, GERMANY, 2016
MEIN SCHWULES AUGE 13, GERMANY, 2016
NOISY RAIN WINTER EDITION, JAPAN, 2016
HOMOSURREALISM, UNITED KINGDOM, 2016
SALVE TELEVISION, GERMANY, 2015
OTZ JOURNAL, GERMANY, 2015
THÜRINGISCHE LANDESZEITUNG, GERMANY, 2015
QUEER, GERMANY, 2015
GAY CH MAGAZINE, SWITZERLAND, 2015
ARTCURE MAGAZINE, GREECE, 2015
BLITZ MAGAZINE, GERMANY, 2015
CHUECA MAGAZINE, SPAIN, 2015
HIV PLUS MAGAZINE, USA, 2015
THE PINK SNOUT, ITALY, 2015
OBSCURE, UNITED KINGDOM, 2015
MEIN SCHWULES AUGE 11, GERMANY, 2014
MEN ADDICTED, FRANCE, 2014
GENTE RARA, VENEZUELA, 2014
LAZAGNE ART MAGAZINE, ITALY, 2014
SRDREGE MEN, TURKEY, 2014
ET ALORS?, NETHERLANDS, 2014
TRIBE MAGAZINE, UNITED KINGDOM, 2014
M+ MAGAZINE, GERMANY, 2014
KALTBLUT MAGAZINE, GERMANY, 2014
NOISY RAIN MAGAZINE, JAPAN, 2014
THE UNTOLD, UNITED KINGDOM, 2014
SLAVE MAGAZINE, UNITED KINGDOM, 2014
ULISEX! MAGAZINE, MEXICO, 2013
EDGE MAGAZINE, USA, 2013
MASCULAR MAGAZINE, UNITED KINGDOM, 2013
GET INSPIRED MAGAZINE, GERMANY, 2013
MUSIKMARKT, GERMANY, 1999
BERLINER MORGENPOST, GERMANY, 1995