Since March 1981, Philip Akkerman paints almost exclusively self-portraits. According to the artist: "I paint (...) only myself, but in doing that, at the same time, I paint all people in all times. (...) By concentrating to an extreme degree on something very simple and very minute, I come across elements which reach far beyond merely the minute." (quoted in exh. cat. Negen, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam 1991, p. 43)