Michael Ackerman's photographs delve into the concepts of time and timelessness and personal and historical narratives of different places. His work reflects an existential urgency that embodies both desperation and luminosity, violence and tenderness. Ackerman's style of black-and-white photography is characterized by an inherent risk-taking approach, where he explores impossible lighting to create enigmatic and powerful images. His images are intentionally grainy and damaged, which is not simply a matter of style, but a direct reflection of his lived experiences, which are never pristine.
"I’m quite sure I became a photographer at age 18 because of my personal and ancestral history of uprooting. Photography has been a new language, a voice and a way to connect with a humanity that is often fragile and vulnerable. It is an exploration of places and people that are deeply layered, haunted and transformed. I have never been sure of home. I was born in Israel, grew up in New York and now live with my wife and daughter in Berlin. I’ve always felt that I’m an outsider and I feel an allegiance with other outsiders, and with landscapes, cityscapes, and animals that embody that spirit. I am driven by a need to see beyond surfaces and facades. In a way, to see the unseen. Homecoming is impossible, but the search is never-ending. There are places where I love to be, where I feel connected, where it’s a pure pleasure to exist and lose myself in (New York, Varanasi, Napoli among others). Places where I’ve felt a little less alien. Photography is an act of profound recognition. When I take a picture I have the brief illusion to belong. M.A." —Michael Ackerman
Ackerman's exhibition, Homecoming, featuring photographs from Varanasi, New York, and Napoli can be viewed at Spot Home Gallery in Napoli.
