Heinrich Voelkel

No Easy Way Out, 2020

Heinrich Voelkel traveled along the closed borders of Germany during the COVID-19 crisis in the spring of 2020. His images discover a country that has hedged itself in to protect itself from a virus. The borders marked with signal colors are temporary. The blockades’ provisional nature is a metaphor for the attempt to preserve the idea of a united Europe.

Sebastian Wells

La Rada di Augusta, 2019–2020

Sebastian Wells takes a look at a region in southeastern Sicily which is stricken by ecological crises due to the prevalent oil refineries. He accompanies the inhabitants through their everyday lives. In the region, which was initially dominated by agriculture, the Augusta-Priolo industrial complex was a boon to the local economy for a long time. Today, the petrochemical plant is a threat to the environment and human health, while at the same time it remains an important employer for the population.

Maurice Weiss

Si jamais ils reviennent, seit 2015

Maurice Weiss examines the collective trauma that still ties all Europeans together today. He examines how the different generations deal with the legacy of the Second World War. “Si jamais ils reviennent,” if they ever come back. This is how a 90-plus-year-old lady from a small village in southern France explains why she still has a stash of weapons in her wine cellar. She fought against German Nazis and collaborators during the occupation.

Mila Teshaieva

Unfamiliar Memory, seit 2016

Mila Teshaieva asked people of different faiths and from different regions of her native country – Ukraine – to re-enact scenes from their family memories. Those family memories became performances, and the performances became photographs of an alternative history of the 20th century. They question how experiences are remembered, processed, and handed down.

Mila Teshaieva

A Ukrainian diary, 2022

Shortly after the outbreak of Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, Mila Teshaieva travels to her hometown Kyiv. She wanted to witness this dramatic historical moment for her country and Europe: From the first days of the war until the last days of April, she compiles personal records in pictures and words. Life during the war is documented; a life marked by destruction, unity and resistance.