Born in the Netherlands, Erwin Olaf emerged on the international art scene when his series 'Chessmen' was awarded first prize in the 1988 Young European Photographer competition.

Never one to shy away from controversy, Olaf's work is often daring and provocative. Mixing photojournalism with studio photography, he’s known for exploring issues of gender, sensuality, humour, despair and grace.

Printing his early work in documentary-style black-and-white, he slowly introduced colour then digital manipulation. Olaf has also expanded into short films, which have been selected for film festivals all over the world. His DUSK & DAWN series will be shown for the first time altogether as an installation in 2010. He’s had many solo shows staged in institutions and numerous publications on his work, including the monograph Erwin Olaf published by the prestigious Aperture Foundation.

Ad campaigns include Levi's, Microsoft and Nokia: he frequently shoots commissions for The New York Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Elle and Citizen K.

Among numerous international art and media prizes, Erwin Olaf was named ‘Artist of the Year‘ in 2007 and won the 2008 Lucie Award for a lifetime achievement in his commission work.