Photo-Essay
Folded, Always a Mistake
The gaze of the Berlin-based photographer Christian Werner reconciles the extraordinary with the everyday in images threatened with extinction. In mindful compositions, his photos appreciate the tragedies and triumphs of moments and things that just were and now should no longer be. Bruised, discarded, forgotten, and missed motifs characterize the photos, which initially demand no verdict, only to then reveal their magic and secrets to the viewer, simultaneously from a distance and with an intimate closeness. In a clandestine agreement with the profane, Christian Werner thus creates a worthy portrait of our time: bleak and ecstatic, familiar and strange, complete and flawed.
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Broken Leg (Delbrück-Ostland, 2020) -
Crash (Los Angeles, 2012 ) -
SOS (Oostende, 2012) -
Teppichfransenkamm / "Comb for Rug Fringes" (Delbrück, 2014) -
Strawberry fields forever (Berlin, 2012) -
Schleudergang / "Spin Cycle" (Berlin, 2012)
“Putting marjoram in there was a mistake. Not leaving right after the movie was a mistake. All without a sweater was, of course, a mistake. Nina was a mistake. It was a mistake not trying it in the summer already. At that price, that was probably a mistake. Turquoise was a mistake. It was a mistake to dwell on it for so long. That thing with the knife was really a mistake. It was a mistake not to have listened to Christian. At that loud volume: granted, a mistake. That it was so brief was certainly a mistake. Without a car, yes, a mistake. Looking back, it was definitely a mistake not to ask first. Folded, always a mistake. If you frame it as a question, it was a mistake because of me. It was clearly a mistake to give up so quickly after not even two days. For me personally, it was a mistake, a small mistake, but yeah. We all made mistakes, but that thing with the cable was the crucial one. Double fail, a very classic double fail. And, well, Nina, but I already mentioned that.”
– Tilman Rammstedt
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Stay on these Roads (Peleponnes, 2016) -
Duschvorhang / "Shower Curtain" (Kassel, 2012) -
Cut (Berlin, 2015) -
Don of a New Day (Los Angeles, 2017) -
Falschparker / "Bad Parking" (Peleponnes, 2016)
This article was commissioned and created in collaboration with Das Wetter – Magazin für Text und Musik.
