Michael Wesely, born 1963, lives and works in Berlin.
For three decades Michael Wesely has been photographing with unusually long exposure times. Photographs exposed over hours, weeks, and years transform his photographs into archives. This provocative approach contrasts with the stubbornness in photography to ensure control over people and settings through strict direction. Wesely creates images that simultaneously crystallize and self-destruct in the process of creation. The photographic results, through their fragmentary nature, invite one to think 'visually archaeologically' into these archive-like slices of contemporary life.
His works are exhibited worldwide and are represented in important collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Instituto Moreira Salles in Sao Paulo, the Lenbachhaus Munich and the Kunstmuseum Bonn.
