Subversive, sensual and shocking: Erwin Olaf’s larger than life portraits – in pictures

11.05am, April Fool, 2020

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Erwin, who was vulnerable due to his emphysema, felt a deep anger and urgency. He believed that, as an artist, responding to societal crises through art was not just a choice, but an obligation. On the second day of the lockdown in the Netherlands, Erwin mobilised his crew to capture his raw emotional response to the unfolding crisis. Using a guerilla-style approach, he documented his state of mind in the early days of the pandemic, with the white hat he wore symbolising humanity’s foolish belief in its ability to control the world