Photography by Manuel Estheim

Born in 1992, Manuel Estheim is figurative photographer currently based in Linz, located on the Danube in northern Austria. He received his BA in Graphic Design and Photography from the University of Art and Design in Linz in 2015. Three years later, Estheim earned his MA in Visual Communication from the same university.

In his work, Estheim deals with such topics as identity, intimacy, gender, the construction of sexuality, and the connection of the ‘self’ with nature. He treats the human body as a sculptural object in the expressive and personal medium of photography, placing his nude subjects in serene, natural settings or in rooms with soft, carefully positioned lighting. 

Going back to one’s roots is a prevailing concept in Estheim’s work, within which he draws a thin line between the concepts of man, animal, and even object. He presents the natural world as the real root of our existence, with all its inhabitants being of the same inherent qualities. Put in Estheim’s soft interiors and serene settings, his subjects seem to exist in a space of their own making, using their time to explore the personal relationship with body and ‘self’.

Manuel Estheim has exhibited his work at the 2017 Sony World Photography Exhibition at Somerset House in London, the 2016  Fotografie Trifft Architektur Exhibition in Linz, the Museum of Preception MUWA in Vienna in 2015 , and at the “Facades: Neo-Noir Portraits, Parallel Planets” exhibition in Singapore in 2015. His work also has appeared in both print and online publications.