Malte Hagen (born 1967, lives in Berlin) combines objects, figures, and spaces to create ambivalent scenarios in large-format images that are strangely attractive yet repulsive. He uses light effects and surfaces to transport the depicted into a mythical distance. Despite allusions to mythology and art history, Hagen's images are completely contemporary. Bulky waste and plastic junk are on a par with golden helmets and classical poses. Hagen “oscillates between sweetness and jelly” (Christoph Tannert). What at first glance appears ironic is rather suggestive and always remains ambiguous.