Academy of Fine Arts Maastricht, 2005

"Man braucht nicht viel Besonderes zu sehen, Man sieht so schon viel." (Robert Walser, 1878 - 1956)

A motive perhaps why, as a visual artist, Patrick Bolk likes to resort to photography; in the role of careless spectator. Capturing casually scenes, however, when looking at his photos, something else trickles through. The feeling that every situation, no matter how insignificant, can be significant.
In the photos, mostly in the leading role of the human species, Patrick leaves room for story. Those stories are not very big, on the contrary. Many photos raise the question of whether something has actually happened or whether something is about to happen. Paradoxically, it is precisely these minimal events that involve the viewer with the characters in the photo.
Without psychologizing or portraying, he captures humans and, sometimes, animals in their habitat in a compassionate way.

“Bodybuilding - The Contest”, 2018

Bodybuilders prepare for contests through the elimination of nonessential body fat to achieve maximum muscular definition and vascularity.

• In the last week leading up to a contest: bodybuilders usually decrease their consumption of carbohydrates.
  
• The day before the show: water is removed from the diet to increase the visibility of veins.
  
• Just before the contest: darkening the skin through tanning products and applying oils to the skin to increase shine and muscular definition.
  
• Immediately before appearing on stage: performing exercises with light weights or other kinds of low resistance to fill the muscles with blood and further increase their size.
  
  And that’s where I came in…