this trilingual book marks the culmination of ten years of collaboration between the photographer max pinckers and the writer hans theys, who was given permission to use a personal selection from all of pinckers' photographs to create a classic photo book without having to take into account their original context. the publication also contains an essay in which theys discusses pinckers' oeuvre based on thoughts by susan sontag. the book is published to accompany a solo exhibition in the photo museum of antwerp in november 2021.max pinckers (b. 1988) is a belgian artist/photographer. in his work he explores the critical, technological and ideological structures which underpin the creation and consumption of documentary images. for pinckers, creating a documentary is a speculative process in which reality and truth can be used as multiple and mouldable concepts. he has received several international prizes, including the prix levallois, the edward steichen award luxembourg and the leica oskar barnack award. hans theys (b. 1927) has written and designed more than fifty books about the work of contemporary artists and has published hundreds of essays, interviews and reviews in books, catalogues and magazines. all these publications are based on collaborations or conversations with the artists in question.