Bathed in electric blue, lips blazing red, ‘Mieke’ is one of the most striking works from Erwin Olaf’s ‘Blue Paradise Portraits.’ Created for the Dutch Embassy in Warsaw, the installation filled the ceiling with 277 blue-tinted faces — a mosaic of Dutch citizens that blurred skin tone differences, offering a quiet reflection on sameness and unity. Within this celebrated body of work, ‘Mieke’ emerges as one of its piercing icons.

The series was inspired by Olaf’s earlier ‘Paradise Portraits’ — a collection of close-up, uncanny faces drawn from Amsterdam’s club Paradiso scene. Captured in extreme close-up, the “partygoers” wore faces lit with ecstasy, slipping into exhaustion and disorientation — the aftermath of a night spiraling from euphoria to collapse.

A cornerstone of Olaf’s oeuvre, ‘Blue Paradise Portraits’ marks his move into grand staged portrait photography. Rarely available as a single edition, this work offers the chance to own one of the series’ most iconic faces. Part of the proceeds from this edition go to Foundation Erwin Olaf, which preserves his legacy and uplifts the next generation through educational grants for MBO students.