Ingelijste foto's Hassan J. Richter 42x32cm

Drie ingelijste foto's  met gesigneerde passe-partout (42x32cm) van de Duitse fotograaf Hassan J. Richter.

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Due to the hastily implemented German monetary union of October 1990 and the practice of the Treuhandgesellschaft* from 1990 to 1995, East German industry was left totally exposed to the laissez-faire world market. While necessary restoration of viable industrial branches was neglected, unemployment rose quickly under the policy of radical privatisation. In theory, the East German people owned a share of the state owned enterprises. This share of the assets they generated, however, was not distributed amongst them as private citizens after 1989. Without wealth or assets, which one couldn’t amass in the GDR due to the planned economy, the East Germans did not have the means to compete in the market on which their farms and enterprises were offered for sale. Even today there are barely any large companies headquartered in the East German region. Instead, many companies were downgraded to branches of West German and international companies, instead of creating their own unique value.

On my excursions I see how, during the periods of the GDR and the reunification, the history decomposes along with the places. Often, the memories of the hard, long and desolate working days in the factories were simply to be wiped out as quickly as possible. There was and still is also a lack of political will to preserve these places as memories or to plan new beginnings. Essentially, the political, social and economic changes that have taken place since 1990 are still visible in many places as ruins rather than as an improved, flourishing idea. Thus young people continue to be drawn away from this homeland in which they see no future prospects, no place in which they could live and work, laugh and cry.

I deliberately don’t disclose where I find these motifs. They are now free flowing spaces. Places where something can be tried out, new things can arise. If these were to become too well-known then prospective customers and interested parties, ranging from scrap collectors to tourist groups to investors, would soon coalesce. These parties might develop the area in a way that restrict the opportunities for local communities including their own ideas and new beginnings. For instance an entrance fee is already being charged to visit some ruins today. This contradicts the character of these places, however. They unfold their magic and their charm in that they are not found in tour guides, but are searched for and discovered. Those who are interested in the history and the stories of such places will find them.
I visit the places several times. On each visit they appear in a different light and reveal new details and different moods.

The photos are taken with an analogue medium format camera or a plate camera (4×5 inch). Through analog photography I can create high quality prints, but above all, it requires a special approach. Each photo requires time and rest, in order to get myself into the places for the motif selection according to the respective light conditions. The basis for the intense colors of the images is a negative film (Kodak Ektar).