Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf, recognized worldwide for his strange scenes, died at the age of 64 after a long battle with lung disease, the media reported on Wednesday September 20. “The world-famous photographer Erwin Olaf has died. His family announced the news,” reported NOS, the Dutch public radio and television broadcasting organization.

After suffering from emphysema in 1996, the photographer recently received a lung transplant. “He was getting better, but his condition suddenly deteriorated. Efforts to resuscitate him failed,” NOS reported, citing a person close to the family.

Born in Amsterdam, an LGBTQ activist, he was knighted in the Netherlands on his 60th birthday as a reward for his work defending the rights of the homosexual community. Erwin Olaf, whose photos are striking for their provocative will, their strangeness or the solitude of the characters, was one of the most sought-after photographers in the world.

“Often described as cinematic, his art is always rich, beautiful, vast and playful,” wrote Time magazine in 2013 about his Berlin exhibition. “Straddling the worlds of commercial photography, art photography and fashion photography, he often makes fun of each of them,” argued the magazine.