THE PULSE OF JAZZ

After years of honing his ability to notice the unspoken—those fleeting, unscripted moments that so often pass us by—Victor has developed a keen sensitivity to the emotional rhythm of a scene. His work is never about perfection. It’s about what’s true.

He first picked up a camera to make sense of the world and reflect on his experiences. Over time, it became his way of seeing, focusing on candid human interactions – whether his own or some he stumbles upon as a passerby. “I’ll be honest, the last three years have also brought a sense of loneliness and detachment into my work, which I’ve been trying to navigate through my lens.” Victor says. “I don’t want to prove anything,” he adds. “But I want to show.”

It’s this ethos that infuses his approach to art in general. For Victor, art is not simply about aesthetic value or technical mastery—it’s about connection. “Art is the creation of things whose image resides in the soul,” he reflects, quoting a line that seems to encapsulate his outlook. Whether through photography, music, painting, or dance, it’s the emotional resonance of art that captivates him. He’s especially drawn to art that feels raw and unpolished, embracing imperfection as a form of honesty.

What draws you to the arts?

I’m passionate about art in general – it feels like a universal language that knows no boundaries. Being a foreigner in Vienna, I’ve found that photography, and art overall, helps me connect with the places and people around me, sparking my curiosity every time I grab my camera and head out (which, as you know, is pretty much always). But it’s not just photography – whether it’s music, painting, or dance, art has this amazing way of bringing people together, even those who might not otherwise connect. I’ve always felt this deep need to bridge those gaps. I’m especially drawn to art that feels real and unpolished; there’s something so powerful about imperfection. I don’t want perfect, I want worth it. 

What do you like best about this project?

The emotional part of it—that’s what I liked best about this reportage.

Victor´s commitment to emotional truth is at the heart of his recent series from ZWE jazz club. “The emotional part of it—that’s what I liked best about this reportage,” Victor shares. That evening, as Jazzahead Picante took the stage, he was struck by the way the music unlocked something timeless. “These fine gentlemen returned to their 20s on stage.” With his signature monochrome style, Victor captured the glow of instruments under stage lights, the concentration of the drummer, the unspoken dialogue between performers—and the faces in the crowd, rapt and smiling.

The photographs tell the story of a night steeped in rhythm and reverie. Jazzahead Picante, a seasoned ensemble known for their dynamic Latin jazz fusion, brought not only technical mastery but a palpable sense of joy to the performance. Their name itself is a playful nod to both jazz tradition and spicy innovation—and on that night, both were on full display.

The setting was ZWE, a beloved live music venue nestled in Vienna’s historic second district. Intimate, dimly lit, and acoustically vibrant, ZWE has long been a haven for jazz lovers and experimental musicians alike. For Victor, the club’s unique ambience was the perfect complement to the spirit of the performance. He captured not only the musicians, but the full sensory experience of the night—the attentive audience, the glint of sweat on a forehead, the intensity of a solo, the warmth of shared appreciation.

Victor’s photographic style is deeply cinematic. Working in monochrome, he eliminates distractions and distills each image to its emotional core. His use of shadow and light draws attention to expressive gestures—a hand gripping the neck of a guitar, a closed eye lost in music, the curve of a saxophone catching the glow of a spotlight. In the photographs he captured that night, you sense not just the sound, but the feeling of jazz: its looseness, its intimacy, its soul.

There’s a rawness to Victor’s work, but also precision. His compositions are clean yet unforced, often framed from unexpected angles that suggest the viewpoint of a quiet observer. One image locks onto the drummer’s concentrated expression mid-beat, another catches a flash of laughter between songs. He doesn’t just photograph performers—he listens with his camera. It’s reportage, but also reverence.

The result is a body of work that doesn’t just document a concert—it evokes it. Through his lens, Victor offers viewers not a record of events, but an invitation: to feel the pulse of the music, the closeness of the room, the emotion that hangs in the air long after the final note fades.