shashasha

Romney Müller-Westernhagen’s solo show “Beyond Faces” at Camera Work Berlin in 2012 presented a large body of her powerful portraits. Following its success, Steidl has now released in book form a new selection of these portraits, taken between 2010 and 2014. Müller-Westernhagen’s varied subjects featured include Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Iris Berben, Boris Becker, Wladimir Klitschko and Andrea Sawatzki.

"As a former illustrator and graphic artist I’ve always seen everything within a frame. Interesting faces surround us on a daily basis. Wherever we look there’s someone with a countenance that fascinates or puzzles. I’ve found studying faces to be a very intimate way of uncovering the hidden side of an individual. When I have my subjects in front of the camera I try to encourage them to connect with me in a more unguarded way than they might normally be accustomed to. When it comes to public figures, I have consistently sought to show the viewer a side that no one knows. Famous faces are not always as familiar to us as we believe them to be. Everyone has a secret. I try to discover it." Romney Müller-Westernhagen

• statement by the publisher