Karkas accompanies an exhibition in May 2018 in Mechelen (Malines), Belgium.

Tim Dirven won a World Press Photo Award with his picture of an Afghan woman, taken shortly after 9/11. Another photo of dancing flight attendants on a KLM airplane became famous after being bought by people around the world. Tim Dirven has been capturing iconic images for over 20 years. He defines his collected works as Karkas (carcass), because it centralises the architecture of man and animal, defining the essence of bodily existence. When everything has been eaten, the carcass is all that is left behind: the last witness. Similarly, this book is a search for the essence of existence. Dirven portrays no-nonsense people hardened by life, who are trying to find balance in an often insecure religious, cultural, political and ecological context.