Typically German: the pictures!

Stereotypes are a form of racism. That's why in 2017 I took time to implement a photography project that was very close to my heart. I photographed Germans who don't necessarily immediately fit into the stereotypical image of German appearance and at the same time non-Germans who everyone would immediately identify as such. I wanted to break down stereotypes, question perceptions and trip up hasty conclusions. People should be valued based on their abilities and not based on appearance or even papers.

I am also annoyed by current political trends that limit "being German" to a passport, but only if it fits into one's own limited view. I am also annoyed by journalistic phrases such as "southern appearance". I have experienced first hand how questionable this categorization is. My grandfather was born in Germany, but without a German passport. This passed on to my father and ultimately to me. I was a foreigner when I was born, but because of my origins I can sing along to all the Cologne carnival songs - in the Cologne dialect. However, if I had been born ten years later, I would have had a German passport from birth because my mother has one.

That's why I thought about how I could use my means to clarify what is important to me on this topic. I invited people from different backgrounds to my small portrait studio, who only differ in one thing: the presence of a German passport.

The project enabled me to get to know a lot of wonderful people and learn more about their experiences with everyday racism, which was reported by people who have a German passport.

I am very sad that even today it is necessary to point out this form of unequal treatment. At the same time, I am very happy to have had so many lovely people in front of my lens. Thanks to everyone for taking part.

All portraits were photographed analogue on Fuji Acros 100 with my Hasselblad 503cx at 180mm f/4 in my studio. The pictures were taken as part of the Millerntor Gallery 2017 exhibited. There, the "game" involved finding the ten non-Germans and assigning them the correct passports. You could have won something on Instagram if you had found them all correctly. However, no one guessed more than two correctly. Most people stood in front of the wall with the portraits and immediately waved them off: "That's impossible and why should I categorize people at all?" I found that a very pleasant reaction!

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