PHOTOGRAPHY: Paging Through “AIKO”, the New Visual Diary by Florian Hetz.

On the surface, AIKO is an overview of German photographer Florian Hetz’s 2020. But upon deeper inspection, this visual diary is also an exploration of hope, acceptance and release.

Last year, Hertz fell ill with encephalitis and lost his father.

“To put it really simply, it’s my year, my 2020,” says Hetz. “It’s an introduction of these daily observations, I would call them. Since the hospital, I always carry a tiny little camera in my left pocket, and the new book is taken more or less 70 per cent with this little camera,” says Hetz in an interview with AnOther.

“Touching insights into Florian Hetz’s innermost thoughts and feelings are translated into a particularly fascinating imagery. His keen eye for the unusual, which this time takes on completely new perspectives, as well as his very own, unique gaze on the male body are captivating. Hetz depicts its sexuality, its fears and obsessions, its shame and its lust. He successfully captures the breathing-sculpture quality of the portrayed men without turning them into objects of voyeuristic or even pornographic desire,” writes Daniel Schreiber in a short essay for the book’s preface.

AIKO is published by Paper Affairs and is out now.

Photography by Florian Hetz © Paper Affairs and the artist