Vivian van Blerk

Seven Capital Vices (2008)

Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1971, Vivian van Blerk has lived and worked in Paris since 1997. By inventing fictions that unfold in parallel worlds close to our own, his photography exploits our tendency to read photographs as truthful documents. To make these photographs Vivian employs many medias. Sometimes he arranges found objects before the camera while for other images he will entirely construct, sculpt, model, and paint a scene and its actors. He also collages and montages imagery in the studio and darkroom, often retouching negatives and using alternative printing techniques to make strange his photographic universe. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town and currently lives and works in Paris.