Many people may only know him as the scary looking bouncer who sets the infamously strict and unpredictable door policy at a world-famous night club in Berlin, but there is a whole lot more to Sven Marquardt. An exhibition at the Yuchengco museum currently shines a light on his work as a photographer and a visit is highly recommended.
Images from the Future’s Past exhibition
Sven Marquardt grew up in East Berlin and started his journey into photography way before he would ever make or break many a reveler’s night as doorman at the ‘hardest door in the world’. He started his apprenticeship as photographer and camera man in the early 1980s and apart from a short period after the German reunification in the 1990s, has been active ever since. His first solo exhibition of photography in the Philippines, called “FUTURE’S PAST”, is a collection of portraits that has been over 30 years in the making.
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Sven Marquardt at the opening of his exhibition
Soft is the wrong word to describe a man who looks like the kind of guy your mother would probably warn you about, and whose handshake feels like it could crush rocks, but as soon as you start talking to Sven Marquardt about his work, you can see his eyes light up behind the dark sunglasses, revealing a different side behind the tough facade. On his second visit to the Philippines, the German native has brought with him a remarkable selection of images for his growing number of followers to enjoy.
You don’t need to be an art expert to see that his pictures have this beautiful mixture between professional photographic training and total artistic freedom that results in images your eye will be drawn into with ease.
All works were shot using traditional film, a task that is becoming increasingly difficult due to stock levels continuing to dwindle, but also a process he says he greatly enjoys, not at least due to the anticipation of having to wait how the photos will turn out, a notion largely unknown in today’s throwaway digital world.
Future’s Past is at the Yuchengco Museum until August 11
The choice of who to place in front of his lens is always made by himself and many of his subjects are from the scene surrounding Berlin nightlife. The vast majority of his works are in black and white – not for deep artistic reasons, but, according to the man himself, because he simply likes it better that way.
He also only ever works with daylight, giving his images a very natural look and feel.
Even if you’re not usually the type to roam around museums while musing about the finer points of art, a visit to his exhibition is highly recommended! Future’s Past runs until Friday 11th of August, 10AM – 6PM every day, at the Yuchengco’s Bridgeway Foyer Gallery & Cone Room, Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City.
More information can also be found at the Goethe Institut Philippinen.
