"Let's talk about IT"
Why should we if we'd rather forget about all this?
The Arles Photo Festival 2023
Being part of the festival even without an official invitation, was the challenge I set myself when going to the Arles Rencontres photo-festival at the beginning of July. By setting up a stand-up banner in various spots in the centre of Arles, I became part of the Off-festival. I invited passers-by heading from one show to the next to have a break from the frenzy and look at my recently published photobook “Quand meme/Anyway/Trotzdem” and start discussing the Corona-years.
File through the book
Get a copy of the book and have a look at the press review!
Why should we talk about the Corona years?
Because we’ve lived situations that we never thought possible before, we gave up on many of our freedoms and human rights, we were plunged into fear on a global level. Even our elders were locked away during the first months of the lockdown, without any visits allowed or without the loving care of their families during these difficult times.
Our children, teenagers and young adults were severely traumatized on multiple layers: the lockdowns led to school and university closures and pupils and students were „homeschooled“; a situation that was very difficult for people with small apartments or several children. Then children were blamed for transmitting the virus - a situation that made family cohesion between generations very challenging.
Next came facial mouth and nose coverings that were mandatory in any public and many private spaces during 18 months from 2020 to 2022. This restriction affected all regardless of age, gender or race; we all experienced a sense of being somehow less than we were before.
2nd Corona portrait series “Rip it off”
During this period I worked on my 2nd Corona-series „Rip it off“. The intention of this series was to show the way that people’s gazes were being transformed by mask wearing. Especially young people, who were confronted with a loss of identity by covering their faces then started to mask their identity.
Depression and anxiety on the rise
During the vaccination campaigns of 2021 and 2022, people started to discriminate against others, sometimes aggressively.
For a couple of years now depression in young people has been on the rise - the Covid years being part of this sad story as several studies [1] have shown. Even if we as adults don’t want to think about this difficult time in our lives, we owe our young generation an open discussion and show them ways to overcome what they might have lost on the way.
Art can open spaces
That’s why I’ve started to set up an applied and interactive art concept called « Let’s talk about It » which addresses (young) adults and pupils.
The photos of my two Lockdown /Corona series invite the viewer to reflect on their own Corona story. Creating a safe space without blaming anyone is so important in times of division and seemingly unbridgeable gaps in society.
I tested the concept when showing the two series for the first time together at the art centre Waxfactory in Cologne in June 2023; it worked out just fine with people discussing their experience together.
Each one of us has a « Corona story » whether it is a private, professional or health-related one. Many of us would like to share it in a surrounding that is friendly and welcoming and opens an exchange on these difficult, emotionally laden three years from 2020 to 2023.
What I’m looking for:
People who are interested in peace building and in bridging the rifts that have emerged in societies since the Corona crisis.
We need community centres or other venues to set up a series of photo projections and round-table discussions.
I’m also looking for interested teachers of secondary schools or universities who would like to do interactive workshops with their pupils and students.
The pedagogical concept is currently in the making.
More to come. Please share your stories and ideas in the comments’ section.
[1] Depression in young people
Deaths of Despair. Child suicide evidence package
Zunahme von Depressionen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen
Mehr Jugendliche mit depressiven Symptomen